The Use of ART in Relieving Musculoskeletal Problems

Chiropractors, physical therapists, and massage therapists use the active release technique (ART) to relieve tension in patients’ tissues and muscles. It is considered the gold standard in treating a variety of musculoskeletal issues.

Used for more than 30 years, ART involves identifying, targeting, and isolating scarred tissue to encourage the faster healing of injuries and pain removal. Repetitive use or trauma can cause adhesions that culminate in scarring, which causes pain and stiffness. Furthermore, this pain and stiffness lead to tingling and burning sensations, aching, weakness, and numbness.

ART breaks up scar tissues (adhesions) that bind up nerves. By manipulating the tissue, practitioners work to help the patient’s muscles and joints move freely.

Practitioners target scar tissue by looking for neck, elbow, hands, knees, and back stiffness. Limited range of motion and heightened pain while exercising also show scarred tissues. Other symptoms include decreased strength, inflamed joints, and sharp pain at the heel.

ART practitioners focus on the fascia, main muscle groups, and tendons and ligaments. They use ART with fascia, the fibrous connective tissue that protects organs and supports muscles in the body, to reduce the inflammation that causes extreme stiffness and pain. In addressing overused and strained muscles, ART therapy relieves pain in the back, neck, shoulders, and hamstring muscles. Finally, ART therapy increases the patient’s range of motion, or flexibility, in tendons and ligaments, which connect muscles to bone)

The technique treats various musculoskeletal conditions, namely chronic neck and lower back pain, tension headaches, shin splints, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis (heel pain), and tendonitis. Practitioners also use ART to treat patients with sciatica.

A body of evidence shows that ART has positive outcomes for patients suffering from musculoskeletal conditions. For instance, ART therapies were found effective in six studies that focused on treating pain, six studies that reported its effectiveness in improving range of motion, and two studies that reported disability improvements.

A 2019 study found that ART also reduces low back and leg pain. The study reviewed 115 cases of low leg and back pain and found incorporating ART therapy correlated with patients reporting pain. In some cases, the pain reduction happened only one month after treatment began.

According to a 2021 National Institutes of Health study, ART therapy is also effective for patients with the scapulocostal syndrome (shoulder pain) and masticatory myofascial pain (pain around the neck and jaw). The study reviewed pain levels after four weeks of therapy involving three hour-long sessions of modified ART. Patients who participated in the study reported decreased pain intensity after this period.

ART has benefits for athletes as well. The technique helps athletes recover more quickly from injuries than other therapies. Furthermore, outside of treating injuries, the therapy can improve athletic performance because it facilitates the restoration of muscle and connective tissue function to peak condition, which allows the person to compete in optimal condition.

While there is evidence of ART’s therapeutic effects, researchers have not studied the technique enough to say definitively that it provides patients with long-term benefits. It restores motion to inflexible areas when applied correctly. It is a non-invasive procedure, and a session typically takes between five and 15 minutes.

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