As defined by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), is clinical approach utilizing skilled, specific hands on techniques, including manipulation/mobilization to diagnose and treat soft tissues including joint structures for the purpose of modulating pain, increasing Range of Motion, reducing inflammation, improving tissue repair and extensibility and facilitating movement while improving function. Manual Therapy is utilizing the hands to deliver a treatment, as opposed to machines or devices. It involves the therapist working on with your myofascia with varying degrees of pressure & tension, as well as speed & force with and without movement. At Redefined Rehab, our therapists are certified in Active Release Technique (ART). ART is a patented, state of the art soft tissue system/movement based massage technique 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. These treatment protocols – over 500 specific moves – are unique to ART. They allow providers to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. ART is not a cookie-cutter approach.