“For the most part, if you’re willing to work hard enough, you can recover from most injuries. Having that mentality really helps you keep moving forward.” Mike Schultz
The Paralympian athlete is absolutely on point when he speaks about having the right mentality when overcoming an injury due to sports. That’s the first step to optimizing an athlete’s performance. There are several other psychological, emotional and physical practices that most athletes will perform to do to get the very most out of their performances. We at Pain and Performance Solutions want to show you how Active Release Technique can help optimize an athlete’s performance.
Let’s Discuss Active Release Technique (ART) First…
We want to get to how Active Release Technique (ART) can help optimize an athlete’s performance, but to do that let us explain a little bit about how ART came to be. Dr. P. Michael Leahy started Active Release Technique® over 30 years ago. ART® began when Dr. Leahy was working with elite athletes as a way to treat soft tissue disorders, so those athletes could return to optimal performance as fast as possible. ART is used to treat symptoms in your muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Through a combination of pressure and tension by the practitioner and movement (usually active) on the part of the client, these collagen fibers and scar tissue are broken up. This restores normal range of motion and blood flow while restoring pain free movement, endurance, and strength.
Active Release Technique can help an Athlete’s Performance!
Some ways of how Active Release Technique can help optimize an athlete’s performance is through Active Patient Movement, active patient motion, specific contact method and internal gliding of tissues. These ways to reconnect the correct motion between your body’s fascial structures while reducing fibrous adhesions are healthy and natural. It also re-establishes neutral and myofascial glide between the tissues. In simpler terms, the tissue is placed in a shortened position. Then, contact is forced while we study the tension of the tissue instead of the compression. The tissue is placed in motion to lengthen it while the lesion is gently touched, held and allowed to release. This is repeated several times to release the tissue while stretching the adhesion and returning quality blood flow so that your body can improve and move without pain.
Controlling and Maintaining
How Active Release Technique can help optimize an athlete’s is so important when an athlete incorporates it into their training. When ART is added to a specific training practice, athletes are able to control and maintain the physical toll on their bodies. While maintaining and controlling the wear and tear on their bodies, this will allow an athlete to perform at the level they desire for a longer period. It will also allow an athlete to participate in other training programs such as strength training and stretching.
While using ART to optimize an athlete’s performance, the athlete’s body will heal in a more organized way. Adhesions can be routinely treated and prevented before they reach the level where scarring occurs. The overstress of an athlete’s joints, tendons and ligaments will be reduced through our Active Release Technique treatments.
Improving Flexibility with ART
Another way how Active Release Technique can optimize an athlete’s performance is by increasing their flexibility. Athlete’s will always push harder during strength conditioning and stretching. The ART treatments will help improve the glide between an athlete’s overall muscle structure. Athletes can push further with strength training and stretching. A healthy balance of an athlete’s body mechanism is what ART will aim to achieve. ART will help to increase an added amount of strength, speed and range of motion.
Moving forward with Active Release Technique
The benefits of how Active Release Technique can optimize an athlete’s performance are abundant. The only way to get started is to set up a consultation with us at Pain and Performance Solutions. Every athlete’s body is different, so getting to know you and how active you are, is vital in how we’ll determine the ideal treatment you’ll need. Your body’s health is our biggest goal, and we’ll do everything in our power to help you get the most out of it in the most natural and healthiest of ways. Feel free to contact us with any questions at (707) 636-4404 or book an appointment through our online scheduling page.