As runners, cyclists, parents, or simply as humans, we all have
aches and pains. When I started running
almost 5 years ago, I had no idea that my first year of running would be full
of injuries. I had shin splints, IT Band
pain, and even some lower back pain. I
eventually got over several of the issues, but that doesn’t mean that I have
remained injury free. In the last year,
I have had Achilles tendonitis and Plantar Fasciitis. I went to the Slowtwitch Roadshow last year where
they had a bunch of booths and speakers on various topics. The one that really grabbed my attention was
the talk by Dr. Vince
Hoffart of Hoffart
Chiropractic, Inc. Dr. Hoffart
specializes in ART® or Active Release Techniques® therapy and after listening
to him talk about the benefits, I decided to meet up with him so we could do a
blog piece about ART together. Here is a
little history on ART® to start us off.
Dr. P. Michael Leahy was working with elite athletes over 30 years
ago when he developed a new way to treat soft tissue disorders. He wanted to find a way to get these athletes
back to peak performance as quickly as possible. Originally trained as an
engineer in the Air force before becoming a chiropractor in 1984, he watched athletes
perform and studied their movement. He
combined what he knew about engineering with his chiropractic knowledge of the
anatomy and biomechanics. Active Release
Techniques® was born (1).
In 1988, Dr. Leahy’s colleagues convinced him to hold a seminar to
teach his method of treatment and the response was overwhelming. Shortly thereafter, he began formalizing a
training method for ART®. The method of
Active Release Techniques® has been patented and over 10,000 ART® providers
have been trained (1). What exactly is
ART® though and how could it help you?
Most injuries that occur during exercise are due to overuse. Even in day-to-day activities can cause
overuse injuries. These can be acute
conditions like muscle pulls or tears, accumulations of small tears like micro-traumas,
or not getting enough oxygen to the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, etc.). Active Release Techniques® is a patented
massage technique that’s more than just going to a local massage therapist to
work out knots. It’s a soft
tissue/movement based system that treats muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia,
and nerves by using a combination of massage/pressure and movements to work out
knots and other scar tissue (1).
Scar tissue is built up when you have trauma or injuries to a
specific area. It prevents muscles to
move as freely and can even make muscles become shorter and weaker. This can lead to a reduction in range of
motion, loss of strength, and pain. You
can even get numbness and tingling (1).
When you go in for an ART® session, you get a combination of an
examination and treatment. The
practitioner will use their hands to evaluate the texture, tightness, and
movement of the muscles.
Once an issue
is found, the practitioner will use a combination of precisely directed tension
with very specific movements to treat the issue. There are over 500 specific moves that are a
part of ART® and each person or injury may be treated by several different
movements (1).
Here is a video that is about 5 minutes long but it does a good
job of explaining what ART is and shows the process of an ART® treatment.
I went to Dr.
Hoffart originally because I had pulled a muscle in my calf and had been
having some Achilles Tendonitis for almost 4 months. I had tried massage and acupuncture with
minimal success. I was training for my
first 50k Ultra Trail Run and needed to get back to 100% as soon as
possible. I met with Dr. Hoffart several
times and each time he started with the evaluation of not only my lower leg,
but all the way up to my hips. He
checked for mobility and differences in strength. He would hold my leg and ask me to push out,
then repeat and have me push in. We did
this with both legs along with other similar tests. He was able to see that I had some loss of
strength in my injured leg as well as a loss of mobility.
Dr.
Hoffart was able to do several different ART® techniques and my mobility
immediately increased. My pain lessened
and within about 3 visits, my issue was basically gone. I had heard that ART® was extremely painful,
but I really didn’t think it was that bad.
One thing that is great about ART® is that the whole idea is that you
get treated and back on your feet quickly.
I have known a few Chiropractors to plan out a 6-12 month recovery plan
(not saying that all Chiropractors are like that by any means).
Talking with Dr.
Hoffart, when you get a massage and they are working on a knot, it is
really painful. They are putting pressure directly on the knot, trying to work
it out and break up scar tissue. ART® on
the other hand is using the act of your muscles lengthening to help break up
the knots as well as scar tissue. It is
this process of your muscles moving to break down the knots that makes the pain
less significant than if you were putting pressure directly on the knots. I know that these are not the technical terms
that are used in the industry, but it is how I understand it and how I can best
describe it to non-medical professionals (since I’m just an ordinary desk
jockey). I honestly get lost when
hearing about adhesions and different muscle groups that make up a larger
muscle.
The bottom line is that Dr. Hoffart was able to do what I was not able to do by
just researching and doing exercises found on YouTube. He healed my Achilles/calf issues and I was
able to complete my first ultra distance race almost pain free (I had muscle
soreness, but that was it). I can’t thank Dr. Hoffart enough and could not have a stronger
recommendation for him as a doctor. If
you live in the greater Sacramento area, please let him help you out. If you are out of the area, find an ART®
specialist in your area. They can help
you get those injures healed so you can perform at your best.
Hoffart Chiropractic
6000 Fairway Drive, Suite 6
Rocklin CA
(916) 632-8315
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