Active Release Techniques®

ART ® is  a patented soft-tissue management system that treats problems that develop in muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves.

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).

When a muscle tightens up for an extended time, friction and pressure builds up between the muscle layers, resulting in decreased oxygen supply to the muscles.

These situations cause irritation and inflammation, which causes your body to produce tough, dense fibrous tissue in the affected area.  This is known as myofascial adhesions and leads to less range of motion, less strength, and pain.  If a nerve is trapped, you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.

The ART® provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the soft tissues. Any problems found are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements in order to break down fibrous adhesions.   The muscle is first shortened, and then either passively or actively lengthened as the doctor applies tension along it.  There are over 500 specific moves to address a wide range of complaints. 

There may be some tenderness experienced during the treatment, but the decreased adhesions and tension soon allows for improvement of a variety of symptoms.  ART® relieves pain and restores motion to affected areas.

 ART® is used in a wide variety of situations.   While it was originally developed for elite athletes, it can aid with repetitive strains from activities at work or activities of daily living.  It can also enhance the performance of recreational and competitive athletes.

The combination of joint manipulation and ART® enables the physician to address both soft tissue and bone/structural problems.   

In some situations, ultrasound is applied prior to ART® and manipulation.   Ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves that deeply penetrate the tissues, creating a heat response which can improve the elasticity of injured soft tissues.