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ART Spotlight, By Dr. Michael Leahy
Wednesday, August 1, 2001
Active Release Techniques Keeps Raising the Bar.
At ART we make every effort to make sure you have the best chance of getting the best treatment possible. The main way we do that is to demand very much from those that take our course. In fact, we're finding new ways every year to keep advancing the science and art of soft tissue treatment.
At ART one of the things we've been busy with is teaching the level 3 courses. This course is all about biomechanics and is almost completely devoted to analyzing gait and other motions of specific sports. At all North American Ironman races there is a level three course and we just completed our second one at the Ironman USA Lake Placid.
We had 16 providers from all over the US and Canada. These providers are becoming some of the most capable docs and therapists that an athlete could hope for. As Steve Fluet, a triathlete, coach and consultant put it: "I have contacted all my athletes and have told them about the benefits of ART."
The process of learning ART never ends. When it does we not only stop growing, we start to decline. Providers must spend and inordinate amount of time, money and effort to become experts in any discipline and because ART is so difficult to learn really well, a credentialled ART provider is a very good bet to be a great doctor or therapist.
Here's an example of what high level care can do:
Marla Runyan
 This week I thought I would tell you about a friend of mine who is a runner. She was trying to qualify for the US Olympic team and was scheduled to run the 5K and 1500 at the trials in Sacramento last summer. She called me and said she couldn't run at all.
She had been on a long run and simply made a quick turn around and her knee began to be painful and "lock up." It was now three weeks before the trials and she couldn't run. In fact she could hardly walk without pain. She was even worried about walking in the airport to the airplane in order to get to Colorado. This was not exactly her plain for the trials.
She had already tried various treatments but there was really no improvement. The pain was on the side of the knee and it would feel like it was stiffening to the point of locking as she tried to walk or run.
The problem of lateral knee pain for a runner is not an easy one. There are at least 22 muscles that can "malfunction" and cause this problem. We started with the lower leg and fibula using ART. It felt better but she couldn't run. We worked all the muscles of the hip and leg, adjusted the pelvis and spine and it improved but was still not resolved.
Over the next 5 days we got her to where she could at least run but not enough to train well. She qualified in the trials and went to Sydney. By watching her run it became evident that the hip was causing the problem. The gamelli and obturator were causing the upper leg to rotate in. When her foot struck the ground the leg was turned in and there was a lateral force abruptly transmitted through the knee. We fixed that.
To make a long story short she made it to the final of the women's 1500 in Sydney. By the way, she is legally blind. Last month she won the US national championships in the 5K. Her name is Marla Runyan and she is an inspiration.
The point of this story is that sometimes the problem can only be seen by having the athlete perform. This is what we call "performance care." If you have a problem that is not responding to treatment, try performance care. The worst that can happen is that you may learn how to perform better.
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