Anyone have anything good or bad to say about active release techniques and their effectiveness for plantar fasciitis? Had my first treatment today and am not sure what to think.
Please let us know after you’ve had a few more treatments. I’m a chiropractor and haven’t taken the ART course. The course seems awfully expensive and after being in practice as long as I have, I’ve seen a lot of hyped up technique systems come and go. On the other hand, other people on this forum seem to be happy with the results they’ve received from ART practitionors. You’ll have to give it a few more treatments before passing judgement.
I surely will. I’m desperate, I’ll admit, and ART at times sounds like witch-doctor stuff. However, today it simply seemed like it’s a variation of deep tissue massage. I can’t imagine it did me any harm, but I’m a skeptic. If in a week I report back that it works, then believe it - I’m a hard sell.
Still want to hear from others - thumbs up or down on ART, especially if it’s with the plantar fascia (although I’m curious to hear how it works on other things).
I was very skeptical of ART when I read their website and listened to what cerveloguy had to say in an earlier discussion. But, I’ve tried everything imaginable for my shin splints (which culminated into a stress fracture last september). I have been unable to have any regular running regime for the last 4-5 years. So I found a local chiropractor who practices ART and have been giving it a shot.
I have to say the results SO FAR have been amazing. I have been going for three weeks now, and the last week and a half I only took two days off from running. That is an incredible streak for me, at my best I could only run every other day. Also, the chiro has been working on my shoulder and some other lower body issues, and those have not felt better since I started doing triathlons.
Now, it is important to note that I still have pain in my lower leg, only it hasn’t gotten any worse (it’s mainly only painful to applied pressure), and actually, it seems to be getting a little better. If I had put in the kind of mileage, time and frequency as last week, I would have been unable to walk in my pre-ART days. So I am beginning to become a believer.
Some other things to note are that I am doing everything I can to help the process. I ice frequently, I stretch, I take an ibuprofen right after running, I wear orthotics. I’m also running very gently right now, at an easy pace. But I did alot of these things pre-ART with no success, so there is definitely a correlation.
As of right now I’m optomistic, however, I’m still a bit guarded. I won’t be a believer until I’m able to really start doing some serious running (I’ve only been really running for a week). With that, however, I would say it’s definitely worth a shot.
I had ART for a nagging case of PF last year and it helped cure me. I tried to solve the problem myself with rest and ice but once I started running again the PF came back so I went to a chiro. Let me add that I’m not sure if the ART by itself is what cured me but a combination of the ART and the other suggestions from the Dr., he had me do the following
- Get “The Sock” (thesock.com) and sleep with it for 3-4 weeks.
- Do calf stretches 2-3 times a day
- Roll a golf ball or frozen water bottle under the arch 1-2x a day
- Get over-the-counter inserts for my running shoes. I tried superfeet but thay made things worse (didn’t fit my foot correctly), went with Sole which I love. He told me that custom orthotics were unnecessary.
After a month or so I was all set. I had been training on with the PF for the most of the season (5 months) so this might have caused the long recovery time.
Andrew
I don’t know anything about ART, but my personal experience with plantar fasciatis must have been a minor one. My doctor merely told me to stop walking around barefoot or in sandals, (I live in So. Cal.), and to always wear good shoes, especially for running (which I have learned over the years). Just a couple weeks of following his advice, and no hint of the problem anymore.
I tried ART for my PF and I don’t think I had enough treatments for it to really work. But, I also had a nasty heel spur that he wouldn’t seem to leave well enough alone and it was aggravating that more than any good it was doing for my PF.
I’ve (almost) cleared mine up with the orthotics (which are finally right)/stretching/icing/tennis ball etc route
Good luck.
k
Thanks everyone for the posts. They give me something to think about.
Jack, please post your progress as you ramp up your miles.
Anyone else?
I’ve been getting regular ART treatments since 1994, and couldn’t train as hard as I do and remain basically injury-free without it. While my training has definitely caused muscle damage (that’s part of the game), ART works out the lesions in the muscles and “releases” the tension that can cause inflamation in tendons, etc.
I’ve had small bouts with PF, achilles tendon tenderness, hip flexor tightness, near-pulled hamstrings, adductors, psoas – you name it, we’ve worked on it. And the beauty is that, rather than saying “it” works, it’s more accurate to say that ART frees up your body so that it can repair itself naturally.
Can’t say enough about it.
-Mike Llerandi