A.R.T.

[John Benz]

What is Active Release Technique (ART)?

ART 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 ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they often result from injury to over-used muscles.

How do overuse injuries occur?

Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:

• acute injuries (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 ranges 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 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.

What is the history of Active Release Techniques?

ART has been developed, refined, and patented by P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP. Dr. Leahy noticed that his patients’ symptoms seemed to be related to changes in their soft tissues that could be felt by hand. By observing how muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves responded to different types of work, Dr. Leahy was able to consistently resolve over 90% of his patients’ problems. He now teaches and certifies health care providers to use ART.

The following is a list of conditions effectively treated via ART:

Arthritis
Achilles tendonitis
Ankle Injuries
Athletic 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
Headaches
Hip Pain
Ilio tibial band syndrome
Impingement syndromes
Joint dysfunction
Knee meniscus injuries
Knee Pain
Leg 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
Tendinitis
Tennis elbow
Thoracic outlet syndrome
Throwing Injuries
TMJ
Weight Lifting Injuries
Whiplash (Hyperextension/hyperflexion injury)
Wrist Injuries

Many of these conditions can be resolved in just a few visits. Athletes find that they are able to resume training quickly with ART treatment. Non- athletes find they can quickly resume their duties at work, etc.

To find the nearest ART Doc, go to the ART website at www.activerelease.com and click on the locater OR go directly to: http://www.activerelease.com/providerSearch.asp.
Then indicate your zip code, etc and how far radius you want to search. It will list the ART Docs in the radius you've indicated.

Each listed will indicate their ART certification. Check the certification as follows:

If you have an arm, elbow, wrist, hand, shoulder problem, etc. you will need a Doc certified in "Upper Extremity".

If you have a hip, leg, knee, ankle, foot, toe problem you will need a Doc certified in "Lower Extremity".

If you have a problem in the trunk, chest or spine you need a Doc certified in "Spine".

Many Docs are certified in all three.... they do it all.

[liftsiron]

I had ART treatments done by a Chiropractor on my shoulders a number of years ago. The treatments hurt like a bitch at first but they fixed my shoulders right up with 26 treatments over a four month period and their still good years later. My only other option was surgery to remove calcium deposits.

[Hawaiianpride.]

Thanks for this find John.

[John Benz]

There is only one ART doc within a 50 mile radius of me, and she worked wonders on my hand. It can be painful because if scar tissue has begun to form improperly, their job is to break it loose and manipulate your injury to heal correctly! Here are several testimonials from the ART thread on a now gone board.

I had it done on my ebow for tendonitits...worked absolute wonders. Nothing else worked for me but ART and I had been dealing with my injury for months at the time of my initial treatment. It may take several visits to treat your injury but it's well worth it. BTW, the treatment can be quite painful.

I won't live w/out ART if youv'e never had it and have an injury this is the best treatment to get.....i went the first time when i had tendonitis and had been getting treatment by a PT for months w/ no improvement...3 visits and I was lifting again....

I go on a regular basis....he fixes what I destroy in the gym.....basically they are doing deep tissue manipulation in order to break up scar tissue from forming....or if it's already formed....yes the treatment can be very painful....and you'll walk out feeling like you've had a workout....and you'll prob be in pain for 24 hours afterwards....but 24-36 hours later....You feel WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!


If you go to the web site you can find a practiioner in your area...

Cutie

G' day,

Over the last month I could feel a pain in my forearm after doing tricep exercises or chin ups, it seemed to be getting worse each week.

Based on what I read here I went to a local guy who does ART, fixed my forearm muscle pain in one visit, I was very impressed. I will do one more follow up visit next week.

He told me to try chin ups with palms facing for awhile and instead of skull crushes with a bar and palms facing forward try dumbells with palms facing each other. Hope this will stop this problem re-occurring.

Neville.

I've been seeing an ART doctor, who's also a chiropractor, for about 16 months, off and on.

I went to him because I had shoulder surgery in August 2003, to reduce arthritic overgrowth in the humeral head and one other bone in the shoulder I can't recall. The insurance-paid PT told me bluntly "Oh, you'll never get back to full function; we can't take you that far, and you should never reach behind you with that arm, and never lift over 50 pounds." Screw that! I found Dr. Farris after four months of effectively INeffective PT, and he had me at full range of motion within only FOUR sessions. Yeah, they hurt, because we were working through scar tissue in my full range of motion. At the end, though, I was back doing martial arts.

Then, in March of last year, I fell while climbing, tore the left quad off the kneecap on the right and sprained the left knee something awful. The PT, once again, was unwilling to help me get full range back, and Dr. Farris got me there. It was then we discovered there was a pinched nerve in the back that was keeping the vastus medialis from firing at all. We're working on that one, stretching out and opening the space and trying to reduce the inflammation around the nerve root.

Between that and chiropractic, I'm recovering better than I thought possible.

[Number-LL]

I have gone to a guy trained in ART off and on for years. It works on us old broken down guys.

[Freezerdude]

John and I spoke about this the other day and I'm sold just like the quinine in tonic water it saved me this morning, been having bad cramps all day yesterday in legs but within minutes of drinking the tonic water the cramps were gone but it's bitter as hell so be ready to mix it with something, I used gatoraid and boom their gone in 15 to 20 mins!