Graston Technique in Coral Springs & Parkland

The Graston Technique at The Spine and Wellness Center targets the scar tissue, adhesions and fascial restrictions that keep muscles from moving the way they should — precisely and hands-on. We’ve served Coral Springs and Parkland since 2005.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Jared Cohen, DC · Updated June 2026

After an injury, surgery or years of repetitive strain, the body lays down scar tissue and adhesions that bind soft tissue together and limit how freely it glides. The Graston Technique uses a set of ergonomically shaped stainless-steel instruments to find those restricted areas and work through them with controlled strokes. The tools let your clinician feel and treat fibrotic tissue more precisely than hands alone, stimulating a localized response that helps the area remodel — paired with stretching and strengthening to make the gains hold.

The Benefits of the Graston Technique

How the Graston Technique Works

The idea behind the Graston Technique is simple, even if the results can feel remarkable. When soft tissue is injured — whether from a single strain, a surgery or years of repetitive movement — the body repairs itself by laying down new fibers. That repair isn’t always tidy. Collagen can bunch into dense scar tissue and adhesions that glue neighboring layers of muscle and fascia together, so tissue that should glide smoothly starts to catch, pull and ache instead. Stretching alone often can’t reach those deeper knots, which is exactly the gap the Graston Technique is designed to close.

During treatment, your clinician glides a smooth, contoured stainless-steel instrument across the skin over the affected area. Because the tool transmits the feel of the tissue back through the handle, it acts almost like an amplifier for the sense of touch — restricted, fibrotic spots register as a subtle vibration or grittiness that hands alone might miss.

Once those areas are found, controlled strokes with the instrument work through the adhesions, gently breaking down the bound-up tissue and prompting a fresh, localized healing response. Blood flow increases, the body clears away old scar tissue, and it rebuilds the area with fibers that line up in the direction the muscle actually moves. Pairing the work with stretching and strengthening is what helps that remodeled tissue stay supple.

What the Graston Technique Helps

Because it targets the fibrous restrictions that limit movement, the Graston Technique tends to shine with the kind of stubborn, lingering problems that haven’t fully responded to rest or stretching. It is commonly used for:

• Scar tissue and adhesions
• Chronic muscle tightness
• Fascial restrictions
• Tendinopathy
• Limited range of motion
• Lingering stiffness after injury or surgery

The Instruments Behind the Graston Technique

What sets the Graston Technique apart from hands-on massage is the set of specialized stainless-steel instruments the clinician uses. Each tool has its own shape and beveled edge, contoured to match a different part of the body — a small, curved instrument for the intricate tissue around a wrist or ankle, a broader one for the sweeping muscle of the back or thigh. Having the right tool for the region means your clinician can follow the natural lines of the muscle and reach restrictions that fingers and thumbs simply can’t work into.

The instruments do more than treat; they help the clinician assess. As a tool passes over healthy, mobile tissue it feels smooth, but as it crosses an adhesion or a band of scar tissue it catches and telegraphs that grittiness back through the handle. That feedback lets us map exactly where the restrictions live before we begin working through them, so the Graston Technique stays precise and every stroke has a purpose. It’s a level of specificity that makes the treatment feel less like a generic rubdown and more like targeted, hands-on problem-solving.

What to Expect

Your clinician first glides the instruments lightly across the area to map where the tissue feels restricted, then applies controlled strokes to work through those spots. You may notice mild pressure or a gritty sensation over a tight area, and short-lived tenderness or pinkness afterward is normal. We tailor the pressure to your comfort and usually pair the work with stretching, strengthening and other therapies to lock in the results.

A typical session is short and focused. After a quick check-in on how the area has responded since your last visit, the hands-on portion of the Graston Technique usually takes only several minutes per region — enough to work through the restrictions without overworking the tissue. We often finish by guiding you through a few stretches or exercises to do at home, and it helps to drink water and stay gently active afterward so the area keeps moving as it recovers. If any tenderness lingers, a little ice usually settles it, and we always want to hear how you felt between visits so we can fine-tune the next one.

Your Graston Technique Care Plan Over Time

Soft tissue heals in stages, and a good plan respects that rhythm rather than rushing it. After we evaluate the restricted area, we map out a course of care in clear phases so you always know where you are and what comes next. Most people move through a handful of visits over a few weeks, though a long-standing restriction can take a little longer to release fully.

Ease the restriction first. In the early visits, the goal is to start freeing the bound-up tissue and calm the pain and tightness that come with it. Sessions may be a bit closer together during this stretch while your body responds.

Then rebuild. As the tissue loosens, we layer in stretching and strengthening so the muscle and fascia learn to move freely and stay that way. This is the stage that turns short-term relief from the Graston Technique into a lasting change instead of something that fades in a couple of weeks.

And finally, maintain. Once you’re feeling and moving well, many patients taper to occasional check-ins — especially athletes and anyone whose work or training tends to reload the same tissue. Spacing out visits helps you hold onto the gains and catch a new restriction early, before it has a chance to settle in.

Throughout, we explain the reasoning behind every recommendation and adjust the plan as your body changes. Nothing is one-size-fits-all, and you’re always part of the decision.

How the Graston Technique Complements Other Therapies

One advantage of being treated at a full wellness center is that the Graston Technique rarely has to work alone. Freeing up restricted soft tissue opens the door for the rest of your care to work better, and pairing it thoughtfully with other therapies tends to move the whole plan along faster:

• Chiropractic adjustments, which hold better once the surrounding muscle can finally relax
• Physical therapy and rehab to rebuild strength and stability in the freed-up area
• Massage therapy to keep the broader region loose and calm between sessions
• Cold laser and red light therapy to soothe inflammation and support tissue recovery
• Stretching and targeted exercise to help the remodeled tissue stay supple and strong

Because everything happens under one roof, your providers can coordinate directly and time each therapy so it builds on the last — turning a collection of treatments into one cohesive recovery plan.

Who Benefits from the Graston Technique

The Graston Technique tends to help people whose recovery has stalled on stiffness they can feel but can’t seem to stretch away. Weekend runners and pickleball players nursing a cranky Achilles or a tight IT band, desk workers with knotted shoulders and forearms, and anyone whose old injury or surgery left behind scar tissue that never quite let go all tend to be good candidates. It’s often a fit when a specific area still catches or aches long after the original injury should have healed.

That said, it isn’t right for everyone, and part of good care is knowing when to reach for a different tool. We start every plan with a thorough evaluation, review your health history, and choose the gentlest approach that will get the job done — and if the Graston Technique isn’t the best fit for your situation, we’ll tell you plainly and point you toward what is.

Is the Graston Technique Safe?

For most people, the Graston Technique is a safe, drug-free and non-invasive way to address soft tissue restrictions, which is a big part of its appeal. There are no incisions and no medication — just controlled, hands-on work delivered by a trained clinician who adjusts the pressure to your comfort. Mild tenderness, warmth or a little pinkness over the treated area for a day or so is a normal part of the healing response, and it typically settles quickly.

As with any therapy, it isn’t appropriate in every situation. Certain conditions, skin issues over the treatment site, or specific medical circumstances may call for a gentler alternative, which is exactly why we evaluate before we treat rather than applying the same approach to everyone. Being open with us about your health history and how you’re feeling between visits lets us keep the Graston Technique both comfortable and effective from start to finish.

Graston Technique for Coral Springs, Parkland & Nearby

Our office at 5675 Coral Ridge Drive sits in the heart of Coral Springs (33065, 33067, 33071, 33076) and is just minutes from Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Tamarac and Boca Raton. Patients from neighborhoods like Heron Bay, Eagle Trace and Wyndham Lakes choose us for instrument-assisted soft tissue therapy with same-day appointments and most major insurance accepted.