Active Release Technique®(ART®) treatment is a hands-on touch and case management system that allows a practitioner to diagnose and treat soft tissue injuries.

Soft tissue refer promarily to muscles, fascia, nerves, tendons, ligaments and the connective tissue that surrounds or contains them. Specific injuries that apply are repetitive strain, adhesions, tissue hypoxia and joint disfunction.

Commulative Trauma Disorder (CTD)

To combat the problem, you must first identify and understand the mechanisms involved. The term trauma may not be accurate although it is recognized nationwide. Actual trauma to the tissues is not required for this disorder to be present so injury would serve better as a discriptive term than trauma. The term Cumulative Injury Disorder (CID) is more accurate.

Injury Types

Acute Injury - The muscle and facial tearing from an acute injury immediately results in inflammation. The white blood cell, fibrinogen, adhesion process easily sets in. If this is not treated correctly, the cumulative injury cycle may be initiated.

Repetitive Motion - Repetitive motion injury is related to specific physical factors. To understand how repetitive motion injures happen it is helpful to review the law of repetitive motion.

Law of Repetitive Motion - The law of repetitive motion and the cumulative cycle are central to the treatment guidelines and definition of CTD.

LAW OF REPETIVE MOTION: I=NF/AR

Commulative Injury Cycle - Cumulative Injury Disorder is a group of injuries to the muscles, tendons, bones, blood vessels, fascia and/or nerves. It is helpful to understand that CTD results from acute injury, repetitive injury, or a constant pressur/tension injury. All of which lead to what we term the Cumulative Injury Cycle. It is the existence of the umulative injury cycle that separates this disorder from other injuries of the neuro-musculoskeletal system.

Adhesions cause the motion of muscles and joints to be altered and cause compression of nerves, resulting in a wide variety of symptoms that characterize the Cumulative Injury Cycle and eduction in biomechanical performance.

Developed to correct the cumulative injury cycle, the goal of Active Release Thechnique® is to:

Restore free and umimpeded motion of all soft tissue.

Release entrapped nerves, vasulature and lymphatic tissue.

Reestablish optimal tissue texture and function of soft tissues.