Active Release Techniques
Natural Recovery in Crofton & Millersville, MD
Your body has incredible self-healing properties, so why turn to drugs and surgery when you can tap into your own ability to recover and regenerate? Effective Integrative Healthcare believes in sharing this principle with our patients and bringing the best in natural care to our community.
To that end, we find that Active Release Techniques (ART) are a surprisingly simple and noninvasive set of treatment options that are also very effective among patients who once thought surgery or prescription medication was their only option to get through each day without debilitating pain. Discover how Active Release Techniques can relieve your pain and restore function to your soft tissues.
How Active Release Promotes Recovery & Restoration
Active Release Technique (ART) is a patented, state-of-the-art soft tissue system of movement based on massage techniques. ART is often used by physical therapists to treat problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves. There are more than 500 specific movements in the ART treatment protocols to address any part of a patient’s anatomy with precision. These movements allow therapists to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. ART is not a cookie-cutter approach to stretching that you might encounter in a yoga class or web video; it’s a targeted form of therapy that requires training and experience to customize to each patient.
ART was patented by Dr. P. Michael Leahy in the 1980s. He developed his technique after noticing changes in patients’ symptoms during changes in their soft tissues. As a result, he developed a technique surrounding a patient’s symptoms that chiropractors around the world now use to treat a variety of conditions.
In multiple pilot studies, it was found that ART is effective at relieving short-term pain in muscle strains. The results showed that even after treatment, patients had greater flexibility and less pain in certain muscle groups.
Is Active Release Therapy Right for You?
If you are suffering a soft tissue injury caused by overuse, trauma, or wear and tear, then ART may be the treatment you need. ART can do wonders to help your body repair soft tissue and get you back to doing the things you love. You will find that ART relieves pain, stiffness, and improves your range of motion.
Effective Integrative Healthcare works with other medical professionals to see if this type of treatment is right for you. While ART can improve a number of conditions, we know when to refer you to a specialist. To see if ART is right for you, we encourage you to schedule a consultation with our team directly. We can answer your questions and concerns and determine if your condition should be treated with ART. Our treatments do not take a one-size-fits-all approach, which is why we carefully evaluate your condition to see what is best for you.
Conditions Active Release Treats
- Headaches
- Carpal tunnel
- Hamstring issues
- Shoulder pain
- Adductor strains
- Shin splints
- Knee issues
- Balance issues
- Lack of circulation
- Back pain
- So much more
Natural Therapy for Your Injuries
Our office uses ART to treat a number of conditions and symptoms. In recent years, it has become a staple of our chiropractic work, helping patients across Maryland take control of their pain.
Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they are often a result of overused muscles. Overused muscles and other soft tissues are the result of three possible issues:
Acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc.)
Accumulation of small tears (micro-traumas)
Lack of oxygen (hypoxia)
Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely for a full range of motion and flexibility. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendinitis, and nerves can become trapped. This results in a loss of range of motion, loss of strength, and pain.
Benefits of Active Release Treatment
- Treat Your Ailments Without Painkillers: When many patients experience muscle strains, they reach for ibuprofen. While this can treat the symptoms of your pain, it does little to fix the underlying issue. Chiropractic techniques like ART work to reverse your pain and promote healing so you can get through the day without addictive painkillers.
- Eliminate the Need for Invasive Surgery: For severe injuries in your soft tissue, surgery may seem like the only option. To avoid expensive and invasive procedures, why not give a natural treatment a try first? ART can restore your soft tissue and improve your range of motion without the need for surgery.
- Improve Flexibility and Range of Motion: Patients report that after just a few ART sessions, they experience greater flexibility and improved range of motion. Some patients go from thinking they will never be able to throw a ball or run the same way again, but targeted ART treatment gets them back in the game better than before.
- Relieve Pressure from Nerves Naturally: Stiffness with soft tissue and spinal misalignments can put unneeded pressure on nerves. This causes conditions like sciatica and can be severely debilitating. Combined with chiropractic adjustments, ART helps relieve pressure from nerves in a way that is natural and non-invasive.
What Makes Active Release Therapy Better?
Compared to other treatments, ART is non-invasive, non-addictive, and affordable. Rather than treating just your symptoms, ART releases your muscles, tendons, and ligaments to promote healing. Since ART breaks up scar tissue and reintroduces oxygen to critical muscles in your body, ART has a lot of the same benefits as treatments like massage therapy. Unlike massage therapy, however, ART actively works to heal your injuries and optimize function in your body.
While many patients can benefit from chiropractic adjustments, ART is the best way to treat conditions related to your soft tissues. Adjustments mainly target your spine, and ART is a much more effective way to deal with muscle-related injuries.
What to Expect During ART Treatment
Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The ART therapist uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness, and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. As your therapist finds abnormal tissues during the gentle examination, these areas will be treated by combining specific patient movements with precisely directed muscle tension to release and stretch the tissue.
We encourage you to schedule a free consultation in our Millersville or Crofton offices, where we can discuss if ART is appropriate for you and demonstrate some basic movements so you feel comfortable and confident about pursuing better health.
Get Started With ART Today
If you are experiencing conditions such as headaches, back pain, shoulder pain, knee issues, or sciatica, you can do something about it. Effective Integrative Healthcare helps patients in Crofton and Millersville, MD, by providing active release therapy. Contact one of our chiropractic offices in Maryland and schedule your active release therapy session.