I injured my knee 3 years ago due to a fall. I ended up doing a year and a half of regular physical therapy. It was ok, but I end in a surgery. After the surgery, my physical therapist, Kayla, introduced me to Astym therapy. At first I was hesitant, but after the very first treatment I felt immediate relief! My knee felt better than it had even before the injury. I feel like Astym therapy sped up my healing. Fast forward a year after my surgery and I re-injured my knee. We went straight to Astym therapy and my progress has been phenomenal! Astym therapy has truly been a God send for me!!!
Christina Underwood
Treating Clinic: Momentum Physical Therapy 305 E Lakeway Rd
Gillette, WY 82718 Phone: 307-696-6045 Website: www.momentumwy.com
After a cancer diagnosis, the brain often switches to survival. Even after successful treatment, it can be hard to move past the lingering fears and see that there is more to life than just survival. This is the experience of Gloria Harnack, a survivor of breast cancer. “I had radiation treatment 12 years ago. Then I had a lumpectomy first, but there were issues and I had the whole breast removed.”
Gloria survived breast cancer, but the treatment left her with scarring. “It was very much like ropes under my skin,” she said, “I had no idea that my inability to reach had anything to do with the scar tissue. As a cancer survivor, you just live with it, you don’t think about fixing it.” Gloria lived with the tightness, scar tissue, and pain for twelve years before learning there might be another option. After a visit with her physician, she was recommended to Mercy Medical Center- North Iowa, for Astym treatment sessions with therapist Lauren TeBrink.
“It got rid of the pain. It has just been a remarkable treatment,” Gloria said, “I wish I could tell you the difference in what I can do with that arm now, of what it felt like before. It’s not lumpy. I never dreamed that I could have better than what I had.” Gloria had lived with her symptoms for so long after treatment, and the new life available to her after Astym treatment was eye-opening. “It doesn’t matter if you get the treatment right after breast cancer, or if you wait years. What matters is you get treatment,” she said.
Lauren TeBrink is an Astym-certified therapist who treats breast cancer survivors regularly, and she has seen the special kind of trauma that breast cancer patients endure: “Women who have gone through breast cancer are a wonderful and delicate population. This type of cancer impacts their vision of themselves and sometimes can impact how they see themselves as a woman.” TeBrink observes.
Prior to becoming certified in Astym therapy TeBrink saw a great need in her patients. Women returned with range of motion trouble and tightness, and there was no ready solution. The women had survived breast cancer treatment but were left with limitations and discomfort from the treatments. “I felt strongly that I was missing something and that I had to bridge that gap. That is what led me to Astym therapy,” TeBrink said.
After getting certified in Astym therapy, she brought the treatment back to her patients and immediately saw results. “I noticed it was significantly improving scar tissue… and improving the look and feel of the scar tissue at the breast.” For Lauren and her patients, Astym therapy was a game-changer. “Since I’ve been certified in Astym therapy, I can see the difference it makes in them [the patients], I can see the happiness. They see that they can improve. Patients who didn’t think they could get better are getting better.”
Astym therapy has answered both the physical and emotional needs of her patients. “To see the hope I can provide these women is beyond impactful to me as a therapist. To tell them I can improve their range of motion, decrease their pain, help them wear a bra more comfortably, and most importantly, to help them feel more like themselves again.” TeBrink advises patients: “Don’t settle. Do not let yourself say ‘I beat cancer and that’s good enough’. If you’re suffering from limited range of motion, scar tissue, sensitivity, if you have difficulty wearing a bra or feeling comfortable, do not settle. Love yourself enough to seek something better.”
Having a special needs brother, TeBrink knows the value of finding the right treatment when you need it. It can work wonders in someone’s life. With Astym therapy, TeBrink is dramatically improving the lives of breast cancer survivors, and she is grateful for the role. As TeBrink puts it: “This shows me that this is where I should be.”
Featured Therapist: Lauren TeBrink, OTR/L, Astym cert Occupational Therapist at Mercy Medical Center- North Iowa, Mason City, IA
I hurt myself dragging a dumpster and so did not want to have surgery again. My doctor sent me to Momentum Physical Therapy where they did Ultra sound and Astym therapy. I found it irritating and painful, but I was willing to try anything so I grit my teeth and beared it. I am having much less pain and will probably not have to have surgery. I am absolutely delighted. The people at Momentum are excellent, especially my therapists Jessie and Kayla, and the intern Hunter. I would recommend them to anyone.
After having Astym therapy about 3 years ago, I was confident when a new area was causing issues and needed treatment. I am almost finished with this round and am once again satified with the results. I joke with my therapy assistant that he loves to inflict the “pain” that stops the pain! The end results are the kinks and scar tissue is worked out and I am much more comfortable in my daily activities.
Before receiving Astym treatment, I was not as functional as I am now. I am still disabled, but I am capable of driving myself to my physical therapy appointments, whereas before Astym therapy I had to rely on other people for rides.
I also am not in as much constant pain as I used to be. The pain itself is still there and will never go away, but I don’t get as high a spike in pain as I used to.
Astym therapy is a great treatment method for what has been, and probably always will ail me.
I had ankle/foot surgery a little over a year ago! I had Astym therapy after recovery and felt great. Six months after surgery while standing I started getting burning sensation around the scar. I assumed it was a normal part of the healing process and decided to live with it for a little while. Six more months and the sensation is annoying and semi-unbearable! I go see the gals at Momentum and after one session, ONE!, the next day during standing I can already tell a difference! I haven’t been able to stand and do the dishes without wiggling my whole leg to get the sensation to go away in a year! Yesterday I got almost completely done and even then the sensation was noticeably less! Here’s to tingle free standing!!!
Astym therapy helped decrease the sensitivity in and around my scar tissue. It helped my ability to raise my arms over my head. The scar tissue is now flat with my skin rather than being adhered underneath.
One day I was playing volleyball and we were warming up and I got hit HARD! I got hit so hard that my glasses broke and my nose was bleeding for an hour. I then got hit in the head two more times. After my third hit, my head hurt really bad and my neck was very sore. I went to the doctors the very next day and turned out that I had a concussion. Then afterwards I told the doctor that my neck hurt and he sent me to physical therapy.
When I got to physical therapy, I was a little scary at first because I didn’t know what to expect. When I went on the first day they did little tests to see what I needed to work on and what was wrong with my neck. After those tests, turns out that my neck has always been tilted to the left and getting hit made my neck shift even more to the left. My neck was very tight and had I knots everywhere in my neck and shoulders.
My second visit my therapist asked me if I wanted to try Astym and I was like why not? So I tried it and it helped tremendously. After the first day it was kind of sore but after that I could actually move my neck with little pain! After I used it once, it just got easier and didn’t hurt and it became relaxing. I went to therapy for 4 weeks 2 times a week and I used it 5 out of the 8 times. My last appointment, I had to take the same little test as my first appointment , they were 10 times better and I’m so glad that I used Astym. I’m back into the game I have grown to know since I was little and I am living a not pained life.
Kayleigh Osterdock
Treating Clinic- OSF Center for Health- Streator
Streator, IL 61364
I’ve suffered from plantar fasciitis for over 4 years. One doctor put me in a walking boot for 6 months. It helped, but then a couple years later both feet were affected. My mobility went downhill and I had surgery in September 2017. The surgeon didn’t care about me enough to continue treating me and I finally started physical therapy.
My physical therapist worked with me until my incisions healed and then the Astym therapist started working on me. I immediately started feeling better and was walking by the next week. Not a lot of walking but I no longer needed my wheel chair to get inside the facility. I received Astym 2x a week for approximately 10 weeks. I am so grateful for this therapy and the continued support of my therapists!
I recommended a friend of mine that had knee replacement surgery a couple weeks before my surgery. She was still having ROM issues and pain. She went to the Astym therapist that had worked on me and was amazed at how fast she gained ROM and less pain. I am a firm believer in this therapy and will recommend anybody I know to this therapy and the therapist who is trained to do this. Truly amazing!
Marella McCarthy
Treating Clinic:
Mid-Nebraska sports and physical therapy
North Platte, Nebraska, 69101
I was previously invited to speak to the NFL Players Association. The NFL players specifically asked me to speak about Astym therapy, which has increased the performance and extended the careers of NFL players.
The NFL players who receive Astym treatment agree that they perform at significantly higher levels and recover more quickly and fully from injuries that would sideline an athlete who is not receiving Astym treatment. Even though Astym therapy has a very good reputation for quality and effectiveness, some players have not tried it. Why? Some are unaware of significant improvements it can make in their game. Others are a bit skeptical. NFL players are fortunate in that they have access to all of the latest and greatest approaches to injury management and performance enhancement. However, the downside is that they often try many highly touted treatments that don’t live up to their “hype”. Naturally, the players then become wary of whether they will see the real results they expect.
After my presentation on Astym treatment, there was intense interest from the players who had not yet tried it. I was talking to these players about how their performance would improve, how their old nagging injuries could disappear, and how their bodies could be made stronger and better adapted to their sport. Just then, an NFL player who said he tried everything before finally becoming a devote Astym treatment fan, chimed in: “This isn’t Voodoo man, it’s the real deal!” I couldn’t have said it better.
Written by: Dr. Tom Sevier, Medical Director of the Astym Program
