As a general rule of thumb, Graston tends to be better for more “diffuse” soft tissue restrictions, whereas ART would be more focal in nature (e.g., the musculotendinous junction). It would be very hard to ART an entire adductor or ITB, but the Graston tools allow one to cover a lot of surface area efficiently. Graston’s also good for saving the manual therapist’s hands over time as well, and many folks like the feedback that the tools give with respect to tissue quality.

That said, there are just some places (e.g., subscapularis) that only a thumb can get to - and that thumb may also be useful for pinning down a structure as the individual getting treated goes through an active range of motion.

Hope this helps!

Eric
http://www.EricCressey.com

Secondly, the greatest thing about being an osteopathy student is the free treatments at any time :)

Thirdly, in place of grenades, what would you recommend as a the next step after a foam roller? PVC or something more hardcore? I’m all for hardcore. I did hammer curls and semi-supinated chins in the same workout, talk about brachioradialis development. That is hardcore.

When you have Nate come into the facility, do you guys pay him for a certain amount of his time, and then he will work on anyone in need of it, or does he come in and then people pay him individually? I’ve been wondering about how this might work, as I’d like to make arrangements with a local professional to come into my facility from time to time.

I’m also wondering how often you, Eric, and Brian find yourself getting some work like this done, as you guys are clearly on the “not jacked up” end of the spectrum but certainly can benefit from a performance standpoint, given that the ability to train more intensely (coupled with a demanding coaching schedule) can leave you with areas that would benefit from some focused work.

I’ve never seen any discussion as to what would make Graston the more appropriate choice in a given situation than ART, or vice versa. Usually the stock answer is a safe and less-than-informative “they both work, just get some done”. But this tends to evade the primary question, namely what makes one the “better” choice for certain situations.

The other reason I am curious is because I have had ART performed on me, but never Graston. And not once have I ended up with any significant “war wounds”/bruising. But with people raving about Graston, there’s go to be more than a little something to it, even if bruising like that would be apt to raise an arched eyebrow in the uninitiated.

If you have any thoughts on what the right “situational” choice for soft tissue therapy is in different types of situations, it would be great to hear them. Of course, this can also extend beyond just Graston and ART. I don’t doubt the efficacy of any given modality, I am merely curious which ones may be the most appropriate and effective within a given context.