By: Aatif Siddiqui D.C.

It is unfortunate that those who suffer from constant back pain are rarely able to find an effective and complete cure from the many treatments available today. Common therapies such as physiotherapy, electrical muscle stimulation, medications, exercise and even surgery cannot prevent back pain from recurring. Thankfully, a new innovative treatment called ART is showing some promises. This new form of back pain treatment has already shown positive results to those who have tried it.

What is ART?

ART is the acronym for Active Release Techniques. It is an innovative and effective treatment that will quickly reduce back pain and correct muscle tightness. It was developed by Dr. Michael Leahy, a chiropractor. Aside from his chiropractic background, Dr. Leahy has also a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He was able to develop this innovative method of back pain therapy by combining his engineering background with his chiropractic training. In a nutshell, ART is designed to correct muscular and soft-tissue problems that developed due to the incorrect adhesion of muscles and tissues brought about by trauma and overuse.

How Does ART Eliminate Back Pain?

An Active Release NYC practitioner will help reduce and even totally eliminate back pain by doing specific soft tissue therapy. This is intended to remove the adhesion built up within the muscles located at the back of the body where the pain is being felt. The correction of these adhesive tissues is the start of resolving back pain and stimulates the restoration of the normal hip extension firing system. The chiropractor who is an expert in ART will feel and evaluate the abnormal texture and tension within the muscles, ligaments, nerves and tendons on the affected part of the body.

At our Chiropractic NYC office we are adequately trained to feel and address the issues on more than 300 soft tissues in your body. The ART chiropractor will test the tissues’ biomechanical actions and orientations and apply the precise therapy to correct the positions and eliminate the adhesiveness of the muscles and tissues. By experience, those who have undergone this procedure have experienced relief in their back pain – which incidentally, did not recur anymore.

Your Participation in ART is required

For ART to be successful in removing your back pain, your participation is required. In the first stages of the therapy, it is mostly the chiropractor who will do all the testing, corrections and therapies. But in the later stages, you will be required to actively move the affected tissue according to the instructions of the chiropractor, while he is applying a specific tension on the same tissue. By experience, patients who took active parts in their therapies have produced better results.

You should also understand that ART is not a quick fix. It is a process that must be strictly followed up to the end. Typically, there will be several sessions before you will feel an easing of the back pain. The length of the sessions will depend on the severity of your back pain.