A skilled chiropractor and certified strength and conditioning specialist with over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, John Beall serves as the vice president of BLVd Design Build in Alameda, California. John Beall has also earned certifications in Active Release Techniques (ART).
Active Release Technique (ART) is a soft tissue therapy that involves massage-like manipulation of injured areas of the body to disentangle abnormal knot-like arrangements of muscles, called adhesions or scar tissues, in the body. These adhesions can result in pain, numbness, tingling, and burning sensations. After ART, chiropractors may recommend an exercise regimen for patients to facilitate complete recovery and prevent recurring symptoms.
One common post-ART exercise is stretching. Although stretching is crucial for musculoskeletal injury prevention, it alone cannot effectively break down adhesions or scar tissue, which is stronger and less flexible than healthy tissue. For example, if a person with a repetitive strain injury engages in stretching exercises before the loosening of intertwined muscles, the exercise will probably stretch only the tissues around the entangled muscles. This can lead to further imbalances and dysfunctional results. Full mobility can be recovered in the treated area for someone who performs stretching exercises after ART because the contracted muscles in the previous scar tissue also stretch.
Active Release Therapy (ART) is an innovative, patented system of treating soft tissue injuries using movement-based massage techniques. Unlike other therapies, ART relies on touch to both diagnose pain or movement issues in tissue structures and deliver effective treatments. This non-invasive therapy, which is less expensive and less time-consuming than other treatments, often results in faster healing.
Originally developed in 1984, ART was the brainchild of Dr. Michael Leahy. Unsatisfied with the low efficacy of traditional treatments for soft tissue injuries, Dr. Leahy sought a new technique for catering to professional athletes who needed to return to competition or training quickly. Eventually, he developed the ART treatment system and in 1988, began hosting seminars to teach other healthcare professionals about his new and effective system.
Active Release Techniques LLC has credentialed over 20,000 professionals to provide the patented soft-tissue care system. Hundreds of these providers serve in major sports leagues including the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. Even Olympic athletes, IRONMAN triathletes, and PGA golfers use ART to optimize their recovery.
ART is administered by certified healthcare providers, trained in the discipline. These include chiropractors, physicians, physical therapists, and massage therapists. It can address soft tissue injuries on the muscles, nerves, tendons (the connective tissue between muscles), ligaments (the connective tissue between bones), and fascia (the fibrous tissues supporting organs in the body).
Soft tissue injuries can cause discomfort. They often manifest through back and neck pain, shoulder strains, shin splints, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, and nerve pain, among others. The physiology of how this happens is complex.
When a person injures their tissue during physical activity, that tissue becomes inflamed, causing limited range of motion. Therefore, a person has to work harder to achieve the same range of motion as before, putting more pressure on the tissue and resulting in more injury and stiffness. The added stiffness is palpable to ART practitioners. It occurs due to cells like fibroblasts, which react to tension by changing shape, impacting the viscoelasticity of connective tissue.
To treat the injury, ART practitioners use physical touch to palpate (feel) the areas where a person is experiencing pain or discomfort. They look out for abnormalities in tissue texture, tightness, and movement. Once they find these, they inquire about the likely cause of the aberration and which ranges of motion cause pain.
Afterward, practitioners apply one or more ART treatment protocols to restore normal function and eliminate pain. Other benefits of the therapy are increased flexibility and range of motion.
ART treatment protocols combine precisely applied tension with specific movements by the patient to repair damaged tissue and provide relief. Because of how targeted and unique ART is, its results are impressive. Many people who undertake the therapy experience relief from muscle sprains, strains, and other injuries in five or less sessions. In fact, while not common, some patients find relief after one session.
As a non-invasive procedure, ART requires no down time, has no side effects, and is not painful. While patients may experience discomfort during an ART session because a practitioner is applying targeted pressure on an injured area, the experience should not be painful. Credentialed ART practitioners receive extensive training on just how to effectively palpate a body part and apply tension without causing nerve damage. Patients can know whether a practitioner is an ART Certified Provider by checking their name on the Active Release Directory at activerelease.com/find-a-provider.
Active Release Technique or ART is a form of non-invasive manual therapy focusing on reducing tension in the soft tissues that causes pain, muscular weakness, and mobility problems. The condition has proven effective in treating acute and chronic conditions affecting the muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves.
ART was developed by chiropractic medicine doctor P. Michael Leahy who realized that the symptoms his patients were experiencing were related to soft tissue problems. These problems can be caused by muscle overuse, leading to muscle spasms, small muscle tears, and the consequent scar tissue. These, in turn, can lead to muscle weakening, trapped nerves, and even tendon inflammation. The result is a reduced range of motion and diminished strength in the affected muscles, which often comes with pain, numbness, or tingling.
The technique developed by Dr. Leahy includes a series of moves that the patient does while the practitioner presses on the affected area. The technique consists of over 500 moves, which allow practitioners to tailor the treatment to each patient’s needs. ART can be effective for athletes, patients with chronic pain in specific areas, and, in general, people who didn’t obtain the desired results with other forms of treatment.
Healthcare providers can train in ART, including chiropractors, physical therapists, and massage therapists. An ART session has the dual purpose of an examination and treatment. The practitioner performs a manual exam to determine the texture and tightness of the muscles, ligaments, fascia, tendons, and nerves.
This examination is useful in identifying biomechanical dysfunctions, locating the affected soft tissue structures, and evaluating motion and posture. Next, the practitioner applies tension to specific areas while the patient completes specific movements. The goal is to treat soft tissue dysfunctions and restore their full function.
The conditions commonly treated with ART are lower back pain, chronic neck pain, sciatic nerve pain, runner’s knee, tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder strains, and tension headaches, among others. The treatment is generally efficient in a wide range of sports injuries, post-operative adhesions, and scarring. The treatment aims to restore the normal range of motion and relieve pain.
Since the ART treatment focuses on applying pressure on affected areas, it can be uncomfortable and painful. However, you may see substantial improvement even after the first session. Depending on the severity of the condition, some patients may need more sessions to get rid of pain and regain muscle strength and range of motion. Usually, patients can see the full benefits of the treatment after a maximum of three sessions.
The main benefits of ART include a significant increase in flexibility and range of motion, reduced lower back pain and neck pain, decreased tension headaches, noticeable improvement of sciatic symptoms, and management of conditions like shin splints, carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, and plantar fasciitis.
Patients are encouraged to follow a post-ART treatment exercise routine that includes stretching exercises for flexibility, strengthening exercises, proprioceptive exercises to improve balance and agility, and cardiovascular exercises to restore circulation and increase oxygen delivery to the soft tissues.
Treatments similar to ART that are also focused on restoring soft tissue function include deep tissue massage, rolfing (deep stretching and soft tissue manipulation), and the Graston technique (similar to ART but practiced with specific instruments to target adhesions). Patients experiencing acute or chronic pain or suffering from any of the conditions mentioned above who want to try ART should ensure they only get treatment from certified ART practitioners.
