Active Release Techniques (ART®)

Active Release Techniques® or ART® is a patented, state-of-the-art-soft tissue system/movement-based technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. An ART® practitioner uses a hands-on approach to identify involved soft tissues then directs the treatment using anatomy-specific protocols that combine coordinated patient movements with directed tension along a target tissue.

With both acute and chronic injury, excess scar tissue and tissue adhesion can occur that results in pain and stiffness, performance loss, and predisposition to further injury as these adhesions cause local tissue dysfunction. At it’s root, ART® seeks to improve the movement relationship between injury-affected tissues by reducing these adhesions that pathologically mend tissue layers together. As tissue function improves at the histological level, clinical level effects become noticeable to the patient - ease of movement, alleviation of pain, and performance gains.

Treatment is generally comfortable as the efficacy of the modality is not dependent on the strength of pressure applied by the practitioner. Rather, by achieving the appropriate tissue target depth and specificity of movement.

ART® can be employed for almost all acute and chronic musculoskeletal pathologies including:

• Sports injuries

• Low back pain, disc injuries, and sciatica

• Neck pain, whiplash, and headaches

• Nerve entrapments (herniated discs, carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome)

• Shoulder and rotator cuff pathologies

• Tendinopathies (tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, Achilles tendinosis)

• Foot conditions (ankle sprains, plantar faciitis)

• Post-surgical rehabilitation