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ART Spotlight Article
Monday, April 1, 2002
What a week
Anthony A Doneson, LMT, BS, ART
On Tuesday, 11/27/01 I turned down a position at the Olympic Training Center, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I was to be the first massage therapist hired by the United States Olympic Committee. At 4:00 p.m. I found myself walking back to my car, after turning down the position, wondering if I hadn't finally lost my mind (or at least a few brain cells).
 Although I had a feeling this was the right choice, things that week had happened so fast and furious, that my gut feeling of whether or not I was doing the right thing hadn't made the full synaptic connection to my brain yet.
So what brought me to this state of confusion?
Backing up a day, Dr. Mike Leahy, D.C. (founder of ART) called my voice mail pager and left a message that there was something he wanted to run by me. I called him back and said, "Whaaaats uuuup". And he said "Whaaaats uuuup"(ok so we just said,"hi"). In short, we talked about the fact that I was accepting a position at the Olympic Training Center. Then I asked him why he was calling. He said, "I was wondering if you wanted to come work over here?" (The new Memorial Hospital Medical Plaza). I told him I would like to meet and talk. We then met for lunch at his office and obviously worked out the details.
But the story did not begin there. In 1989, I had an interview with Dr. Leahy after graduating from massage therapy school. My instructor put us in touch with one another. I had three other interviews but my gut told me this was the office I wanted to be in. I worked with Mike until 1996. We had lots of fun and I learned a lot (thanks Mike). I provided soft tissue rehabilitation to patients and athletes. I also assisted instructing, with Mike, at some of the Active Release Techniques (ART) seminars. And now…I'm back.
I am writing this after the spine seminar in San Diego, 11/29/01-12/02/01. Mike made sure we did not waste any time getting me caught up.
I thought I knew ART and I did know ART, the 1996 model. This seminar was light years ahead of where it was, improved tapes, manuals and general organization. I could tell that thousands of dedicated hours went into the organization of the new seminars. All of the instructors were extremely well qualified and dedicated to meet the needs of each student.
Over the course of the seminar, my gut and my brain had connected enforcing the fact that I had made the right decision. This is going to be a challenging and rewarding environment in which to work.
03-18-02
Three months later….
This is a follow up to "What a Week." I am continually impressed with the volume and quality of information presented in the Active Release Techniques (ART) soft tissue treatment system. I have instructed at four seminars now, one in San Diego, New Jersey, San Francisco and Toronto, Canada.
The word is really getting out that this is a great soft tissue technique. There were 80 health care professionals at the San Diego seminar, 80 in New Jersey, 115 in San Francisco and 170 in Toronto.
These are four-day seminars that are jam packed with information and plenty of hands-on work. My first seminar was "Spine". There were 76 protocols to learn. This was like going back to college, and this was the "easy" seminar. The lower body seminar has 96 protocols and upper body has 105 protocols. Then, after you have mastered these courses, there is an advanced, Performance Care Program. In this course, you study biomechanics of the body in motion and address specific sites compromising neuromyofascial structures. Professional, Olympic and recreational athletes alike have already experienced the improved performance this program provides. In fact, at every seminar Dr. Leahy presents several athlete case studies in front of the class.
Anatomy is heavily emphasized in these seminars. Dr. Leahy, D.C. has studied the neuromyofascial relationships of literally every structure and come up with some very key points to treat. In fact, you may say he is a Neuromyofascologist. You can come up with your own name for this kind of doctor if you want, all I know is that this field will be heavily weighted in the near future.
ART is very successful resolving peripheral nerve entrapment conditions such as carpal tunnel, cumulative trauma disorders, thoracic outlet, tarsal tunnel and cervico-cranial syndrome and others.
What's cervico-cranial syndrome? It's a fancy way of saying your neck is making your head hurt (usually following a neck injury). It causes a variety of symptoms, some of which may be, difficulty in concentration, sensitivity to light and nausea. Dr. Leahy, keeping up on the latest findings for soft tissue, found research indicating that there is a connection between a small muscle at the base of your skull (the rectus capitis posterior minor) and the sheath around the brain stem (the dura). So what does that mean? It means that if you effectively treat this muscle (clearing it of scar tissue), it has a direct effect on clearing the symptoms. This is just one example of the far-reaching effects of this technique.
Since 1984, when Dr. Leahy pioneered this technique, there have been thousands of health care professionals trained with approximately 700-800 current credentialed providers worldwide. To be an ART "credentialed provider", means they have passed a rigorous written and hands-on test. Doctors, from as far as Norway and Australia, have traveled to the United States to learn this technique.
Lastly, ART is committed to insuring the high quality of the technique and professionals. ART is copyrighted and patented. There have been several other techniques developed since the development of ART, but like an original painting, it can not be reproduced. By protecting the technique it protects the patient. It ensures that consistent quality care can be found wherever the patient may travel.
To find out more about this technique or to locate a credentialed provider log on to activerelease.com.
Thank you Dr. Leahy and all of the ART instructors and support staff because you have made this a "Top Gun" teaching program. I am glad to be back with the organization.
Anthony A Doneson, BS, LMT, ART
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