Peak Performance Sports Therapy
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Active Release Techniques (ART) in Cincinnati, OH

Founded by Dr. P. Michael Leahy, the NFL Denver Broncos chiropractor and soft-tissue expert in 1985, ART help break up and normalize scar tissue in the muscle and surrounding fascia. These occur as a result of a traumatic injury cycle: injury leads to inflammation, which leads to adhesions and scar tissue in the surrounding muscles, fascia, tendons and ligaments. If left untreated, this will prolong recovery times, and lead to muscle weakness and compensation patterns which set the stage for future injuries and pain.

What is Active Release Techniques (ART)?

ART is a patented, state of the art soft tissue system/movement based massage technique developed by P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they are often a result of overused muscles.

How do overuse conditions occur? Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:

  • 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.

What is an ART treatment like?

Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The ART provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements.

What is the history of Active Release Techniques?

ART has been developed, refined, and patented by P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP. Dr. Leahy noticed that his patients’ symptoms seemed to be related to changes in their soft tissue that could be felt by hand. By observing how muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves responded to different types of work, Dr. Leahy was able to consistently resolve over 90% of his patients’ problems. He now teaches and certifies health care providers all over the world to use ART.

Aches, Pains, Injuries Benefited by Active Release Techniques

At Peak Performance Sports Therapy, we offer an integrative approach based on what pain, injury, Restrictive Range of Motion limitation you are experiencing. We combine an synergistic combination of the following Manual Therapy Modalities, and when adding the CuraMedix Ortho Pulse 100 Radial Shockwave machine, you will give yourself, regardless of how many Orthopedic Surgeons, Sports Medicine Physicians, Chiropractors, Physical Therapists, Athletic Trainers, Acupuncturists, LMT’s, you have sought answers or solutions in the past, you will find likely find answers to your pain and discomfort, more often than not, in the first session that we are able to work with you.

You may have invested in Xray’s, CT Scans, MRI’s, EMG’s and all the other diagnostic tests that you may have invested in and all of the time and money invested to help get you back to feeling your best and are still no closer to feeling closer to your best physical self.

A fundamental principle and one that is rarely effectively addressed in our current journey for experiencing less pain and discomfort and greater peak level of our own individual performance, is that if you haven’t effectively treated the soft-tissue of the body, i.e. the Fascia, Muscles, Tendons, Ligaments, by releasing Trigger Points via NeuroMuscular Therapy (NMT) and Adhesions/Scar Tissue via ART, and through Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) reactivating all neurological signals to each individual muscles, that due to injury/overuse/stress that are not firing correctly, than the your foundation for healing and getting back to feeling your best, is built very precariously, on a shifting bed of sand.

You may gain some benefit through standard exercise and stretching, adjustments, hot-cold and electric stem, but please realize that you have effectively treated your pain or injury, to the lowest possible percentage possible.

Although you may feel a little better and able to function effectively, if you don’t try to get back to as close to 100% that you were prior to the injury or pain, you are setting yourself up for a life of compensation patterns and other aches pains and injuries, potentially knee, hip or other joint replacements or that dreaded back, neck or spine surgery, that could likely be prevented.

The best part is that you won’t have to suffer on a daily basis for years, until that joint finally gives out and a replacement joint is your only opportunity to get out of severe pain.
Release your Pain, Now and Enjoy Moving and Living Your Life to the Fullest, Now!

A combination of a few modalities that will help get you out of pain or discomfort and raise your ability to get back to your Optimum Level of Performance.
Active Release Techniques- ART primary focus is to help you reduce any Adhesions or Scar Tissue, which can be a major factor in the pain and restricted Range of Motion that you may be experiencing.
These are just a few of the aches, pains and injuries that ART can effectively address, increasing better Range of Motion, reducing pian, radiating pain or numbness.

ART can be effective for people suffering/experiencing the following conditions:

Head Pain

  • Tension Headaches
  • Migraines- I work on people suffering every day that have experienced debilitating headaches, from Migraines, to Tension Headaches to Athletes and Non-Athletes, who have suffered devastating effects of concussions and get great results!
  • Temporal Mandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMD) or TMJ

Neck Pain

  • Neck Pain and Restricted Range of Motion
  • Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
  • Radiating Pain and or numbness
  • Many muscles in the neck, refer directly to where people are experiencing their headaches, the SternoCleidoMastoid (SCM) being a key muscle to release.

Back Pain

  • Upper and Middle Back- Thoracic Spine
  • Middle back between shoulder blades and Rhomboid Pain
  • Difficulty Breathing or being able to take a full breath
  • Dowager’s Hump
  • Lower Back
  • Sacroiliac Pain and Dysfunction- SI Joint Pain
  • Back Strain and Sprain
  • Herniated Disc
  • Bulging Disc
  • Sciatica
  • SI Joint Dysfunction and Pain

Shoulder Pain

  • Frozen Shoulder
  • Bicipital Tendinitis and Tendinosis
  • Rotator Cuff Strain or Partially Torn
  • Shoulder Impingement
  • Bursitis

Elbow Pain

  • Tennis Elbow – Lateral Epicondylitis and Golfer’s Elbow-Medial Epicondylitis
  • Sprains and/or Tear of Ligaments of Elbow
  • Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
  • Ligament Sprains and Tears, leading to elbow pain

Wrist and Hand Pain

  • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  • De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis
  • All various tendon strains and sprains
  • Numbing and tingling of hands and fingers, not related to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome but could originate anywhere up the Kinetic Chain, possibly even the neck or cervical area.

Hip, Thigh and Groin Pain

  • Piriformis Syndrome
  • Bursitis
  • Post-Surgical to Reduce Pain and to Increase Range of Motion (Labral Tear, FAI, Arthritis)
  • Iliopsoas Impingement and Snapping Hip
  • Osteitis Pubis
  • Rectus Femoris and Quadriceps Pain and Strain
  • Hamstring Tightness and Strain
  • Apophysitis- In adolescents, it occurs where the super tight tendon, because of growing so fast, attaches to the bone at the Growth Plate, causes inflammation and a stress injury, causing pain. Apophysitis can occur wherever you have a growth plate, with a bone that has not fully closed.
    Hamstring Avulsion, Either Post-Surgery or If Surgery not required

Knee and Lower Leg Pain

  • Iliotibial Band (IT Band) Syndrome – Lateral Knee pain
  • Patella Tendinitis or Jumpers Knee – Inflammation of the Patella Tendon
  • Osgood-Schlatter Disease
  • Calf Pain, Calf Strain of the Gastrocnemius
  • Calf Pain and Strain of the Soleus, deeper muscle to the calf, known as the Second Heart, as it is critical to help pump returning venous blood from lower leg, back towards the heart.
  • Medial Tibial Shin Splints, of the Tibialis Posterior
  • Anterior Tibial Shin Splints
  • Achilles Tendinitis
  • Anterior Compartment Syndrome. Posterior Compartment Syndrome.

Foot and Heel Pain

  • Plantar Fasciitis
  • Achilles Tendinitis
  • Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
  • Ankle Sprains
  • Weak Ankle Stability
  • Bunions
  • Hammer Toes
  • Neuroma
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