Active Release Therapy in Inver Grove Heights

Active Release Therapy ART® in Inver Grove Heights is a hands-on soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that treats problems that result from overused muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves.

A muscle treated with ART is shortened and manual tension is applied to the muscle by a therapist's fingers. Then, the patient actively lengthens the muscle while the therapist holds tension on the muscle. When a muscle is tight, the technique works by increasing the nervous system's tolerance to stretch the muscle. This can release trapped nerves and break up adhesions, ultimately reducing pain and related symptoms

HOW DO OVERUSE CONDITIONS OCCUR?

• acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc)
• accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma)
• not getting enough oxygen (hypoxia)

Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain. If a nerve is trapped you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.