Active Release Technique (ART™)

ART is a patented, state-of-the-art, movement-based, soft-tissue technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. With soft tissue injuries, scar tissue develops in a criss-cross fashion, causing the muscle to become shortened and therefore not contract or relax properly. ART focuses on breaking up non-linear scar tissue, allowing the muscle to contract and function to its full potential.

This treatment helps resolve acute and residual injuries quickly and permanently, and helps prevent future injuries. 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 overuse conditions occur

Overused muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:

• acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc)
• accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma)
• inadequate supply of oxygen (hypoxia)

Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. 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 weakening.

Both of our Chiropractors use ART in their treatments where indicated and there is no additional fee for this.