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What is Active Release Technique (ART)?
ART is a patented, state of the art soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they are often a result of overused muscles.
How do overuse conditions occur?
Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:
- Acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc),
- Accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma)
- Not getting enough oxygen (hypoxia).
Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain. If a nerve is trapped you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.
What conditions can ART treat?
We use ART to treat a broad range of soft tissue injuries, including the following:
- Arthritis
- Achilles tendonitis
- Ankle Injuries
- Back Pain/Injuries
- Bicepital Tendonitis
- Bunions
- Bursitis
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Compartment syndrome (Chronic)
- De Quervains's tenosynovitis
- Dupuytren's contracture
- Foot pain/injury
- Frozen shoulder or adhesive capsulitis
- Gait Imbalances
- Golfers/Tennis elbow (Tendonitis)
- Golf Injuries
- Hammer Toes
- Hand Injuries
- Muscle pulls or strains
- Muscle weakness
- Myofascitis
- Neck Pain
- Nerve Entrapment Syndromes
- Performance Care
- Plantar Fascitis
- Post surgical
- Repetitive strain injuries
- Rib Pain
- Rotator cuff syndrome
- Running Injuries
- Scar Tissue Formation
- Sciatica
- Shin splints
- Shoulder Pain
- Sports Injuries
- Swimmers Shoulder
What happens during an ART treatment?
The doctor uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tension, movement and function of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements.
These treatment protocols - over 500 of them - are unique to ART. They allow providers to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. ART is not a cookie-cutter approach.
Treatments take about 5 minutes for each area being treated. A condition may require two to ten visits before full functionality is restored. Manipulation is frequently carried out in conjunction with ART to increase treatment effectiveness.
Whenever possible we have our patients perform active movements during the treatment process. Active motions stimulate neurological pathways in the spinal cord that help to reduce pain during treatment. Motion also helps to reproduce the stresses the patient will actually be under during normal active motion
Ensuring you get the right touch!
Strength, speed and endurance are expected to improve within the first few treatments. We will often have our patients test these factors after two or three visits. If no improvement is seen, we know that either we have not found the source of the problem, or the area affected needs to be strengthened further.
Active Release Technique is non-invasive, very safe, has virtually no side effects, and has a record of producing very good results. When a soft tissue problem has resolved the symptoms will not return unless the injury happens again. To avoid future injuries we instruct our patients in specific exercises, give postural recommendations and explain to our patients the mechanism of injury so that it may be avoided in the future.
How does an ART treatment feel?
Treatments can feel uncomfortable during the movement phases as the scar tissue or adhesions "break-up". This discomfort is temporary and subsides almost immediately after the treatment. It is common to feel a duplication of your pain symptoms during the treatment, this is a good indication that the problem has been identified.
