Helping Those with Running Injuries

Soft tissue injuries can be devastating to runners. Months or even years of training can seemingly vanish when running injuries start cropping up. This is why the Active Release Technique might be the most important form of therapy out there for runners. Active Release Techniques have been proven to help athletes with soft tissue injuries, muscles pulls – even simple headaches.

What is Active Release Technique therapy?

ART is a form of systemized massage and pressure designed to loosen "locked" muscles, tendons and ligaments, making it easier to repair soft tissue injuries. Over time, repetitive injuries lead to a build-up of scar tissue. This scar tissue can put pressure on healthy tissue, which limits your range of motion, puts tension on your tendons, and disrupts your nerves’ ability to transmit signals to the rest of your body, which can lead to pain or even (in a worst case scenario) decreased mobility. When this happens, athletes need to see a medical professional to help repair the damage done by repetitive injuries and scar tissue. The patented ART system has hundreds of precise, specific movements designed to lessen the impact that scar tissue has on your body. Medical professionals must be licensed to perform Active Release Therapy, so if you have a chiropractor in NJ, make sure s/he has completed the training.

What can Active Release Techniques help fix?

ART is designed to help people with running injuries, carpal tunnel, back pain, tennis elbow – you name it. The technique is designed to help ease the pain by working on scar tissue caused by repetitive injuries, such as tears, pulls or lack of oxygen. ART practitioners often work with:

• Muscles

• Ligaments

• Soft tissue

• Tendons

• Plantar fasciitis

Why is Active Release Technique therapy beneficial to runners?

Those who incur running injuries have the most to gain from ART. Soft tissue injuries in the legs affect more than just a runner’s ability to compete. Long-term effects of running injuries could lead to decreased mobility as the runner ages, problems with balance, and increased back pain. The repetitive motions employed by cross-country and track runners can stress particular muscle groups and tendons. Even non-competitive runners can stress these parts of the body if they’re not careful. The Active Release Technique is designed to work with running injuries caused by all different terrains, thus ensuring that the therapies are both specific to you AND effective.

Getting You up to Speed

The most important thing to remember about ART is that it is a process – NOT a quick fix. Chiropractors in NJ who are schooled in ART therapy will require you to undergo a number of sessions to help ease the pain and strain of your running injuries. The length of the session, as well as the amount of sessions you need, is determined by how severe your soft tissue injuries are. Pilot studies are showing improvements in athletes who undergo ART therapy and it has been used by Olympic and Ironman competitors all over the world.