Active Release Techniques For Computer Related Injuries
What is active release techniques all about?
Created by Dr. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP, Active Release Techniques is a radical soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that is essentially used to alleviate pain caused by overused muscles.
Dr. Leahy observed that many of the symptoms that his patients displayed were linked to changes in their soft tissue that could be felt by hand. He finally found the solution to these problems by studying how the nerves, ligaments, muscles, tendons and fascia responded to different types of work.
Taking A Look at Repetitive Stress Injury
People who work in jobs that involve overuse of one type of muscles, such as athletes as well as computer users, often display some type of repetitive stress injury. As the name suggests, this injury is caused by a repetitive motion using the same muscles over and over again. Some types of repetitive stress injuries include:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Sciatica
- Lower back pain
- Shoulder and neck pain
- Headaches
- Plantar fasciitis
- Shin splints
- Knee problems
When over-used, muscles and other soft tissues get injured because they do not get sufficient oxygen and also because very often, they suffer from micro-trauma, which is an accumulation of soft tears. In time, the continuous repeated motion produces tough scar tissue, which restricts free movement in the affected areas.
With further build up of scar tissues, the tension on the tendons increase and the muscles weaken and become shorter. This causes a range of symptoms from tingling sensation, numbness and restricted movement to loss of strength and acute pain.
How These Techniques Help
Active release treatments or ART include a combination of thorough examination, accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. Using his or her hands, the ART provider will first assess the tension, texture and range of movement of your nerves, ligaments, tendons and fascia.
Any abnormalities that are present are then treated with precisely directed tension in combination with very precise patient movements. There are more than 500 specific moves that are unique to ART.
ART does not employ a cookie cutter approach to treating repetitive stress injury. There are several specific treatment protocols that allow ART providers to accurately identify and treat the unique problems affecting each patient.
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