Humans are creatures of habit. You are a human. Therefore, you are a creature of habit. Since you are a creature of habit, you likely do several of the same activities every day of your life. Hopefully some of those activities are brushing your teeth and showering. After that, things get a little more specific to you. Maybe you spend all day sitting in the same position. Maybe you’re an athlete that does a similar training program each day. Perhaps you spend a lot of time walking or bending or lifting. The point is – you use a lot of the same muscles every day.
This can lead to “muscle overuse” – a very technical term. When your muscles are overused, they can accumulate small tears and pulls. In turn, this leads to scar tissue buildup in the muscles as the tears heal. When that happens, the muscles begin to lose some of their strength and size and mobility. They may put pressure on nerves they never used to, resulting in pain. They also might get less oxygen than they used to – which makes the situation even worse.
This self-imposed prison is one your muscles will be stuck in until something is done about it. The active release technique can be used to release them from their prison and return them to normal function. First, your active release technique specialist will use his hands to determine the texture of your muscles – looking for any scar tissue build-up. Then, he gets to work on breaking up the “bad stuff” – another very technical term – using various stretching motions. He will also apply targeted tension to the muscles.
Your active release technique specialist has hundreds of different movements he can use to break up the scar tissue on your muscles. This allows the active release technique to be very flexible and personalized just for your specific muscle conditions.
This technique is an option that doesn’t have any true risks. Since it doesn’t involve any incisions, medication, or injections, there are no real side effects to worry about either. In fact, it usually feels pretty good. Just make sure to find an active release technique specialist you’re comfortable with because you’ll likely require multiple visits.
The active release technique also increasingly being used after surgical procedures as there is often significant scar tissue buildup during the healing process after surgery.
So have no fear. If you’ve overused your muscles, give them a day at their “spa” where they can be massaged, allowed to heal, and allowed to return to their former glory. You won’t regret it. You’ll be able to go through your daily activities with less pain and more effectiveness. That means you’ll be a happier person. And going forward, remember to be proactive about managing your muscle overuse so you’ll prevent more pain in the future.
