Active Release Technique® (ART) is available in Smithtown and Selden, NY!

What is ART®?

Active release technique, or ART®, is a patented, soft tissue mobilization that can treat problems associated with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Conditions such as headaches, neck pain, low back pain, sciatica, shoulder, elbow, knee injuries are just a few situations ART® can treat, efficiently and effectively. These conditions arise from overuse injuries in athletes and over utilized muscles related to posture in the general population. 

How Do these Injuries Occur?

An overuse injury develops from a repetitive strain or stress on a certain muscle, ligament or tendon, some times, even bone. This often occurs in athletic type injuries, however, this type of injury can occur just as frequently in the general population. Athlete’s often repetitively push their anatomy to the brink of failure in order to improve in what they are training to do. In some cases, this overtraining can cause these injuries. For example, a sprinter commonly injures his/her hamstrings, quadriceps or feet due to repetitive pounding on the ground. The general population is more often affected due to their posture while sitting, standing, driving, and other common day-to-day activities.

What is happening around us? 

The general population’s posture epidemic can be blamed on technology. Technology is great, however, since cell phones are practically hand held computers, we are too-frequently looking down at our phones. This constant postural change is responsible for causing a forward head carriage or slouching. Looking down this often, we are repeatedly straining the musculature in the back of the neck and our upper back (thoracic) region. With the repetitive stresses on these muscles, our body will react/adapt and these muscles will begin to become over-activated. Over-activated muscles are simply being “worked out” over and over. When athletes practice/train for their sport they are activating and strengthening their muscle repetitively to get them in peak form. The general population is inadvertently accomplishing similar results with the postural muscles in the neck and upper back. 

How does ART® Help?

ART® is a great tool to help relax the over-active musculature in the back of the neck and upper back (thoracic) region. The best way to attack this posture change is to relax the over-active musculature and to strengthen the weak/under-utilized anterior musculature located in the front of the neck. It is important to understand when treating these types of conditions, you need to release, or deactivate over-active muscles and then strengthen/activate weak/underactive muscles. In most stretching/soft tissue mobilizations, practitioners will be passively stretching the musculature. With ART®, the patient will need to perform certain movements actively with the practitioner in order to effectively “release” the musculature. See the video below of an example of ART® technique utilized by one of our Smithtown chiropractors.

All of our chiropractors at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy are certified in ART®.

Summary

Article Name

Active Release Technique

Description

With ART®, the patient will need to perform certain movements actively with the practitioner in order to effectively “release” the musculature. See the video below of an example of ART® technique utilized by one of our Smithtown chiropractors.

Author

Admin

Publisher Name

Block Chiropractic & Sports Physical Therapy