What is Active Release Techniques (ART) to Patients?
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 is an ART treatment like?
Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and
treatment. The ART provider uses his or her hands to evaluate
the texture, tightness and movement 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 specific moves - 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.
