ART stands for Active Release Techniques. It is a noninvasive soft tissue technique that is based on movement massages. This type of physiotherapy is used to treat chronic issues with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Active release techniques are used on patients with overused muscles such as tennis elbow (inflammation of elbow tendons), sciatica (pain in the back, hip and outer leg), knee problems, carpal tunnel syndrome (nerve compression in the hands and fingers) and plantar fasciitis (heel pain).
There are many amazing health benefits of ART. Here’s 10 that help with common muscle overuse problems like pulls, tears and hypoxia (not getting enough oxygen).
- Range of motion improvement: As we age, our range of motion can deteriorate with muscle overuse. ART can fix this problem allowing us to experience better flexibility.
- Treatment for common sports injuries: Whether you are a professional athlete or play sports for fun, there is a good chance you’ve experienced a common sports injury, such as a knee injury or shin splint, at some point. ART can take care of these problems and help get you ready to get back on the ice, field or court.
- Headache relief: We can get headaches from anything from grinding our teeth to staring at our phone screens too long. ART can relieve headaches by targeting the temples and back of the neck and head which is where the pain originates.
- Joint condition treatment: People who suffer from arthritis and other joint conditions will see much relief after being treated with ART because the pressure on the joints will be diminished.
- Scar tissue disappears: Overworking the muscles can lead to the buildup of scar tissue but ART can help clean out those adhesions.
- Rapid recovery time: Unlike a treatment such as surgery, ART allows you to recoup quickly and get back to your everyday life. In fact, there really isn’t any recovery time after an ART session. You can just get back to doing what you do.
- Helps correct soft tissue and muscle issues: Problems with soft tissue and muscles are common when we don’t stretch or take care of ourselves after exercising. ART can correct these issues, leaving our muscles feeling refreshed.
- Overall muscle performance and function improvement: With ART, you will notice a global improvement of your muscle function and better movement all around.
- Targets specific muscles: When you hurt a certain part of your Healthy Body, you don’t need to have your entire system massaged. ART allows the specific muscles you’ve overused to be targeted.
- Pain reduction: Since ART is a noninvasive treatment, you will experience little to no pain while your muscles are being worked on.
Is ART the right choice for your muscle issues? If you suffer from overuse then there’s a good chance you can benefit from active release techniques.
