Many athletes suffer injuries, as well as aches and pains, that can impact one’s quality of life. Every day, ordinary people experience this, too. Thankfully, treatments, such as Active Release Therapy, can offer incredible relief.
What is Active Release Therapy?
Active Release Technique (ART) is a non-invasive, soft-tissue treatment that addresses many different ailments, including back pain, headaches, shoulder pain, plantar fasciitis, sciatica, knee pain, tennis elbow, bursitis, and more.
Whether stemming from accidents and injury or overuse, adhesions or scarring build up in the soft tissue and end up reducing blood flow to the area. The result is that muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves can become weaker – and motion can become limited. This can be painful and, if the nerves become trapped, numbness, burning, and tingling can occur, too.
Those who are experienced and certified in providing this technique can offer much relief to their patients. They work to break up the adhesions and scarring and release the soft tissue and the nerves in order to greatly reduce pain.
How does Active Release Therapy Work?
Doctors and physical therapists who are certified in ART diligently work to narrow down the area where the adhesion or scar tissue is located. During the treatment, the physician will apply deep pressure to the scarred area while the patient actively works to move and stretch the muscle. This will cause blood to flow to the area, leading to natural healing.
This active movement combined with the deep pressure will allow the tissues to release the adhesions, leading to an increase in range of movement, reduced stiffness, and reduced pain. ART promotes faster healing and will allow patients to move forward with normal functioning sooner rather than later.
Benefits of Active Release Therapy
Active Release Technique (ART) comes with quite a few benefits – especially for those who have pain that stems from soft tissue injuries. These benefits include:
- A reduction in both acute and chronic pain.
- Improve range of motion and flexibility.
- Potentially increase the threshold of pain.
- Relief of ailments such as headaches, lower back pain (including sciatica), and even carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Prevent sports injuries and improve performance.
- Faster recovery time for injuries.
Why You Need Active Release Therapy
While learning about ART, including its benefits, you may find yourself wondering whether or not you are a good candidate for the technique. If you are experiencing any of the following, you should make an appointment with your chiropractor as soon as possible.
- Muscle weakness
- Pain when moving or exercising
- Numbness or tingling in hands/fingers or legs/feet
- Pain in the shoulder, knee, back that also involves a minimized range of motion or stiffness
You may be surprised at just how much relief you can find with Active Release Technique.
Learn More About ART
If you are interested in learning more about Active Release Technique or you are looking to find relief from it, the certified professionals at Elite Performance Chiropractic are here for you. We use ART along with other therapies, as needed, to help our patients find the most relief and the greatest ability to heal.
To learn more or to schedule an appointment, call (312) 573-1800. Or, book an appointment online.