Addressing Core Stability with Active Release Technique (ART)
The first steps in dealing with issues of core stability should be the analysis, identification and treatment of restrictions that inhibit motion. Active Release Technique is specifically designed to do just this.
ART practitioners start the procedure by performing a specific biomechanical analysis of the athlete's motion. This analysis is used to determine where specific restrictions are located along their entire kinetic chain. Your core area is the first place an ART practitioner will evaluate. After evaluation, appropriate ART protocols are then applied to remove restrictions and restore or improve function.
About Active Release Techniques
ART treatments are specific and based upon the individual needs of each athlete. ART does not use a cookbook approach to treating a non-specific diagnosis.
ART® finds the specific tissues that are restricted and physically works them back to its normal texture, tension, and length by using various hand positions and soft tissue manipulation methods.
Effective treatment of any soft tissue restriction requires an alteration in tissue structure that breaks up the restrictive cross-fibre adhesions and restores normal function to the affected soft tissue areas. When executed properly, this process treats the root cause of the injury, and improves athletic performance.
Active Release Technique® is a patented muscle therapy that is considered the very best treatment of repetitive strain (RSI), sports, overuse, recurring and training injuries.
The ART practitioner is extensively trained to find the exact tissue that is injured or causing the problem and then physically works that tissue back to its normal texture, tension and length. This technique is unique, very specific and provides excellent results. Usually a patient will see significant results within just a few visits even if the injury has been around for years.
Conditions that respond best: shin splints, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, rotator cuff strain or other shoulder problems, knee and ITB problems, head aches, neck and back strains.
Who can benefit from Active Release Technique® (ART)?
Anyone who suffers from any type of repetitive strain injury – from the athlete, to the office worker, to the home keeper- can be helped by treatments with active release techniques. Even if this problem has not responded to other forms of treatment. In addition ART is an effective tool for improving athletic performance.
ART is should be your first choice if you have any type of repetitive strain injury since it is able to resolve the majority of these cases without the use of invasive techniques like surgery, and can do so with almost no side effects (aside from a temporary tenderness of the soft tissue)
How can ART improve athletic performance?
Performance of any sport – by either the amateur or the professional athlete – can improve significantly after ART treatments.
Art allows the body to perform at its most efficient level by restoring proper soft tissue function and movement. Short, restricted muscles are weak muscles. The removal of these restrictions results in an almost immediate increase in strength. In addition, patients frequently experience improved reaction times due to the improved muscular and nervous function.
Why will exercises that did not work before become effective after ART treatments?
Stretching and strengthening exercises only become effective if they are executed after the adhesions within the soft tissue have been released. Attempts to strengthen muscles bound by adhesions often cause the structure to become more restricted, which in turn causes additional tension within the soft tissue.
What is Active Release Technique® (ART)?
ART is soft tissue therapy 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.
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 tissue 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 all over the world to use ART.