Active Release Techniques for Strength Athletes
By
Mike Westerdal
At some point or another, just about every bodybuilder and athlete on the
planet is bound to get injured. Luckily, for most of us, these injuries are
usually minor and don’t result in anything more than a slight inconvenience for
a few days. Sometimes though—especially if you’re a powerlifter, Strongman, or
competitive athlete—they can stretch on for weeks or months and even bring your
training to a halt. Some strength athletes though have found lasting relief for
formerly debilitating injuries through a technique known as active release
techniques (ART).
ART is a soft-tissue, chiropractic technique that specifically targets the
injured area. Feedback on ART has so far been very positive. Because of the way
it’s administered, some people might say that ART therapy is a “massage.” But
make no mistake—it’s not.
ART therapy is a movement-based technique that is actually patented. It was
developed in the early- to mid-nineties by a Colorado chiropractor by the name
of P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP. He developed the technique after observing that
his patients’ symptoms were apparently related to changes in the soft tissue
that he could actually feel with his hand.
Based on that observation, Leahy began tracking how the soft tissues
(muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments, and nerves) responded to different types
of treatments (soft tissue work). From there, he developed the ART program,
which is made up of more than 500 different specific moves to treat problems
with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves, back pain, shoulder pain,
sciatica, knee problems, tennis elbow, and more. Nearly all of these are pains
that can be common among strength athletes like Strongmen, powerlifters, and
other competitive athletes.
Many of these problems are caused by soft tissue injuries that usually occur
in one of two ways—acute conditions (pulls, tears, strains) or the accumulation
of small tears caused by doing the same movement over and over (micro-trauma).
When these things happen, they can cause the body to produce dense scar tissue
in the areas affected. The scar tissue builds up, and as it does, the impact it
has becomes more widespread. As a result, we suffer from a reduced range of
motion, a loss of strength, and, of course, pain.
When these kinds of injuries occur in a strength athlete—especially one who
is competing—it can be devastating because our tendency is to “work through the
pain.” However, what happens is we overcompensate because of the pain and wind
up exacerbating the original injury. We often end up with more pain than we had
in the beginning.
So, in these kinds of circumstances, ART therapy can be ideal for the
strength athlete. It starts with a comprehensive evaluation by a certified
therapist. The evaluation takes about an hour. Its purpose is to pinpoint the
injury, determine its severity, and then establish the proper therapeutic
regimen. ART therapy works by treating the abnormal tissues (scar tissue) by
combining precisely directed tension combined with very specific movements from
the patient. The big benefit here is that the treatments can generally alleviate
the problem after just a few visits. That means no lengthy down times.
I’ve read about all kinds of strength athletes—powerlifters and Strongmen
included—who have had tremendous success alleviating persistent, chronic pains
with ART therapy. And in the majority of cases that I’ve seen, the treatment
time has been relatively short—from two to six weeks. After that, they’ve jumped
right back into competition—pain free.
There have been several scientific studies conducted to determine how
effective ART therapy actually is in treating injuries relating to the overuse
of muscles. Nearly all of the studies show that ART therapy can be very
effective in treating these types of injuries. One study conducted at the
University of California (San Diego) showed a 71 percent success rate. Other
studies obtained similar results with rates of success ranging from 70 percent
to more than 90 percent. In these studies, most participants said that the
problem was eliminated after three to seven sessions.
Now, obviously, a therapy like this isn’t going to be 100 percent successful
for every person who tries it. Some injuries are more severe than others
or are related to other problems or issues. And sometimes, for some other
reason, ART therapy just doesn’t work. But, with research showing that in more
than 70 percent of the cases studied, ART therapy effectively eliminated the
problem and enabled these athletes to get back to training, I’d say that this is
one technique that is definitely worth investigating if you have an
injury that is holding you back.
Mike Westerdal is the founder of Critical Bench, Inc. and a free online
weightlifting magazine. Critical Bench hosts the Internet’s largest free
exercise database and is the home of many workout routines, including the
Critical Bench Program to help you increase your bench press.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
