ART TM is a patented, state-of-the-art soft tissue system 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 ARTTM.
These conditions all have one important thing in common: they often result from injury to over-used muscles.
How do overuse injuries occur?
Overused muscles (and other traumatized soft tissues) can cause changes to your body in three important ways.
- Cause acute injuries (pulls, tears, collisions, etc.
- Accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma, postural strain),
- Reduce oxygen flow to cells (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 can cause tendonitis/tendonosis and nerves can become trapped.
This can result in reduced ranges of motion, loss of strength, and pain. With trapped nerves, you may also experience tingling, numbness, shooting pains, burning sensations, weakness, muscle atrophy and circulatory changes.
What happens during an ART treatment?
Every Active Release Technique session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The ART provider 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 specific moves – are unique to ART. They allow providers to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. Active Release Technique is not a cookie-cutter approach. Providers are required to attend annual re-certification seminars to maintain their credentials and to keep current regarding new protocols and research.
Treatment is non-invasive, very safe, has virtually no side effects and has a record for producing very good results. Treatments can feel uncomfortable during the movement phases as scar tissues or adhesions ‘break up’. This discomfort is temporary and subsides almost immediately after treatment. It is common to feel a duplication of your pain symptoms during the treatment (a good indication that the problem has been identified)
Treatments take about eight to fifteen minutes for each area treated and may require two to ten visits. If indicated, spinal manipulative therapy is frequently carried out in conjunction with ART to increase treatment effectiveness.
Who Can Benefit from ART?
The types of conditions successfully treated by Active Release Technique are very diverse. Some of the more common conditions are:
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other peripheral nerve entrapments
- Spinal pain and dysfunction
- Tendinopathies and other soft tissue disorders of the hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, ankle and foot
- Sciatica, TMJ, recurrent sprains and strains.
Only a certified ART provider can ascertain whether ART might prove beneficial for your condition.
For more information about ART or to locate a provider, visit: www.activerelease.com
