Services @ Alpine Chiropractic
Our unique model of care...
At Alpine Chiropractic, our ultimate goal is to provide you with the best type of care available. Our unique model combines several different types of care. Any one type of manual treatment can be very beneficial and affective, however, the combination of chiropractic care, massage, ART and rehabilitation ensures a safe, gentle, complete treatment that can shorten healing time, increase performance and provide greater, longer lasting results.
Active Release Technique (ART)
What is Active Release Technique (ART) to Patients?
ART is a patented, state of the art soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. 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.
How do overuse conditions occur?
- Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:
- Acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc),
- Accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma)
- Not getting enough 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. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain. If a nerve is trapped you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.
What is an ART treatment like?
Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The ART provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements. Mild discomfort can be associated with a treatment. This is caused while the structure is loosened up and the sacr tissue is broken down, however most patients describe a feeling of "good pain" or "warmth" as the stretch becomes affective. Most feelings of discomfort are temporary and usually subside immdiately after the treatment. It is also very common to reproduce the patient's complaint during a treatment. This is a common and very good indication that we have isolated the problem area and are affecting good changes.
These treatment protocols - over 500 specific moves - are unique to ART. They allow providers to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. ART is not a cookie-cutter approach.
What is the history of Active Release Techniques?
ART has been developed, refined, and patented by P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP. Dr. Leahy noticed that his patients' symptoms seemed to be related to changes in their soft tissue that could be felt by hand. By observing how muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves responded to different types of work, Dr. Leahy was able to consistently resolve over 90% of his patients' problems. He now teaches and certifies health care providers all over the world to use ART.
This information was obtained from the ART website @ www.activerelease.com