What's all the buzz about Active Release Techniques (A.R.T)?

Whats all the buzz about A.R.T? You may have never heard of it or maybe someone you know has mentioned it or has had great results from it. And no it has nothing to do with painting or sculpting. For the lowdown read on.

Active release techniques are very specific soft tissue techniques that use precise pressure and tension created by the practitioner at specific places on the body whilst the client moves to release adhesions and dysfunctions in the soft tissues such as muscle, fascia and ligaments. Sometimes the practitioner may also move your body when the movement is complicated or you find it difficult. You can think of it as a pin and stretch technique but taken to a very specific level.

The beauty of ART is that it can work really quickly at restoring proper function to soft tissues that standard deep tissue massage can’t release.

Active Release Techniques has been developed by a U.S Chiropractor over the last 20 years who realised that repetitive strains within the soft tissues were causing injuries to the tissue and not allowing them to glide past each other smoothly, causing pain and dysfunction.

Within the body the muscles, fascia, nerves and blood vessels need to glide past each other smoothly. When we do repetitive actions or have a trauma such as a tear or a fall we can get injuries to the tissue that can then glue or adhere the tissues together. Adhesions can also occur between the soft tissues and the nerves causing painful nerve entrapments.

ART has some very targeted techniques for releasing these nerve impingements and adhesions in the soft tissues.

ART has quite a presence in the Ironman world especially in the US. Here in Australia it is gaining momentum as the gold standard in soft tissue treatment for its quick, lasting results so the more we spread the word the more people can benefit from it.

Some practitioners say they do it but may have never taken a course so it’s important to know whether the practitioner you are seeing has completed all of the main courses. There are 3 main courses which are Upper Extremity (arms, shoulders, wrist and hand), lower extremity (legs, feet, ankle, hips) and Spine (neck, jaw, head, spine, abdomen).

In the hands of a skilled practitioner that has great palpation skills and sound anatomy knowledge ART can be the difference between getting average results and getting you out of pain for good.

For more info feel free to get in touch and spread the word.