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 cause 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. It is non-invasive, very safe, has virtually no side effects, and has a record of producing very good results.
 
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.
 
In general ART is administered by shortening a structure (muscle, tendon, ligament or fascia), applying specific tension to that structure and then lengthening the structure. With the proper tension depth and simple skill of the practitioner ART quickly reduces or eliminates scar tissue and adhesions that cause tightness, reduced range of motion, soreness, tension and pain.
 
ART can also address nerve entrapment which makes it a great protocol for many patients with numbness, tingling and loss of strength in the extremities.
 
We attempt to have our patients perform active movements during the treatment process, which stimulates neurological reaction, thus reducing pain during treatment. Treatments tend to take 8-15 minutes for each area being treated.
Treatments can feel uncomfortable during the movement phases as the scar tissue or adhesions "break-up". This discomfort is temporary and subsides almost immediately after the treatment.
It is common to feel a duplication of your pain symptoms during the treatment (a good indication that the problem has been identified).

Patients often say that treatment " hurts good".

What condition can be treated with ART?

We use ART to treat a broad range of soft tissue injuries, including the following:

• Arthritis
• Achilles tendonitis
• Ankle Injuries
• Back Pain/Injuries
• Bicepital Tendonitis
• Bunions
• Bursitis
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Compartment syndrome (Chronic)
• De Quervains's tenosynovitis
• Foot pain/injury
• Frozen shoulder or adhesive capsulitis
• Gait Imbalances
• Golfers/Tennis elbow (Tendonitis)
• Golf Injuries
• Hammer Toes
• Hand Injuries
• Headaches
• Hip Pain
• Ilio tibial band syndrome
• Impingement syndromes
• Joint dysfunction
• Knee meniscus injuries
• Knee Pain
• Leg Injuries
• Muscle weakness
• Myofascitis
• Neck Pain
• Nerve Entrapment Syndromes
• Plantar Fascitis
• Post surgical
• Repetitive strain injuries
• Rib Pain
• Rotator cuff syndrome
• Running Injuries
• Scar Tissue Formation
• Sciatica
• Shin splints
• Shoulder Pain
• Sports Injuries
• Swimmers Shoulder
• Tennis elbow
• Thoracic outlet syndrome
• Throwing Injuries
• Whiplash (Hyperextension /hyperflexion injury)
• Wrist Injuries
• Muscle pulls or strains