I attended a course on Saturday 10th March hosted by Physiquipe Clinics. It was both informative and interesting. Ken Johnson, who is Director of Rehabilitation Therapy Services Outreach for Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, talked about the different modalities to reduce soft tissue pain and dysfunction, these included HawkGrips, PiezoWave and the PhysioTouch.
I have always been someone who believes that hands are best. I have heightened ‘feel’ in my fingers. I can feel a hair easily in my pocket and so my palpation skills are pretty damn good. I’ve worked for the past 15 years purely using my hands to do bodywork. I did my first Myofascial Release training back in 2004 and over the years have worked with thousands of different bodies, with all sorts of different issues. I believe my body reading skills are up there with the best and because of my varied experience of working with such a vast range of patients, my treatments take a very whole body view. So, I’m not just treating the area that is painful, but as the whole body is connected via a fascial web, other body parts are affected too.
So, when you are constantly using your hands, they get tired. I started using the PhysioTouch a year ago and I love it. Not only for breaking down fibrotic tissue in chronic Lymphoedema but for treating scars and tight fascia. It is also incredibly useful if someone comes with hypersensitive tissue if they are in the acute injury phase for desensitising before putting your hands on.
I have come across HawkGrips previously and thought there was absolutely no way I would ever use a piece of metal on my patients. However, after yesterday, I can most definitely see how I could integrate them into my practice. I believe they would be a welcome adjunct to my treatment – not only that, they will save my fingers and thumbs!
The PiezoWave 2 was super interesting. I would be fascinated to see how it might benefit Lymphoedema patients. It would be very interesting to see how the lymphatic system would be affected – fluoroscopy would be a great way to see it. If I had more money, I would invest in this device. Not only for soft tissue injuries but I can see the benefits to my Lymphoedema patients too.
All in all, this was well worth getting up at 6am on a Saturday morning for. Thanks Andy Thomas for suggesting I attend!
Article written by Petra Erving, Certified Lymphoedema Therapist, Scar Tissue Therapist