Active Release Techniques®

A.R.T.® is very effective therapy for many musculoskeletal injuries including sciatica, low back pain, neck pain/whiplash, tennis and golfer’s elbow, rotator cuff issues, knee pain, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, jaw pain, headaches, and many more. It is a patented soft tissue, movement based treatment system designed to remove small areas of scar tissue (adhesions) in muscles, tendons, ligaments, or fascia as a result of injury and/or overuse.

Overuse conditions can occur in 3 distinct ways:

1) acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc),

2) accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma), and

3) hypoxia (not getting enough oxygen).

Any of these 3 factors can cause your body to produce an adhesion made up of dense scar tissue in the affected area.

Once this occurs, it limits the ability of that tissue (muscle) to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes inflammation (tendonitis), and nerves can become entrapped! This can lead to reduced range of motion, decreased strength, and pain. If a nerve is affected, this can feel like numbness, tingling, and/or weakness.

The provider uses their hands to evaluate the texture, tightness, and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves and provide the appropriate treatment. Areas needing some healing are then treated by combining a precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements, causing a release in the tissues. There are over 500 unique ART protocols which allows the provider to identify and correct the specific condition(s) that are affecting each individual patient.

Both Dr. Amber Eckel, DC & Dr. Kyli Seier, DC are full-body certified in Active Releasse Techniques (A.R.T.®) and integrate this within their Chiropractic treatment sessions.