Tag Archives: Active Release Technique

Miss Know-It-All

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I’m sure doctors just LOOOOVE when I come to tell them what needs to be done.  It doesn’t help that I research things to a great extent AND that I’m a nurse.  I also know that it’s okay to be knowledgeable and the more you know about your body, the better you can help yourself.

Yesterday, I went to see my A.R.T. (Active Release Technique) doctor to get my muscles, mainly my adductors, worked on.  My hip flexors/psoas were in great shape, so my stretching has been paying off.  My right adductor was really painful but I felt wonderful after the whole ordeal.  I also had him work on my shins and calves bilaterally because I had been having some tightness here and there.  Surprisingly, my left one was a lot tighter than my right.  I had him take a look at my hamstrings and he said, “They are good for you.”  Apparently, to other runners they would not be good, but for me they are a pretty good improvement. I’ll take it.

We had this conversation as well:
Dr:  What makes your adductors feel pain?
Me: When I increase my speed.
Dr:  Stop doing that.
Me:  That’s not what I want to hear.
Dr.:  Just be glad you can run and finish a race without injury, you’ve come a long way.
Me:  Can’t we work something out?  How am I supposed to be faster?
Dr.:  Don’t go for that PR, just finish.

I didn’t like this conversation, and since I have a goal to take 12 minutes off of my current half PR, I’m going to stretch, strengthen, and roll the hell out of my legs so that can happen.  I will also be smart and listen to my body.

Ahhhh the tangled web we weave.

After my ART appointment, he told me I could do my 3 miles, but just run/walk for the day since he worked on so much.  I did them… it sucked, but I did them.

Afterward, I went to a pharmaceutical drug company’s presentation at a very nice restaurant.  We had an open tab at the bar and since I rarely drink, the 89 glasses of red wine that I drank left me feeling pretty tipsy.  I will now present you with a bunch of fancy food pictures.

Boulevard Salad

Chicken Oscar

The bottomless red wine and the “Extreme Housewife” drink.

The New York Cheesecake 

And yes I ate all of it… except a few morsels of the New York Cheesecake.

Do you want to try or have you ever tried A.R.T.? 

Keep Foam Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’

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^^ Impressed by my 90′s song reference from the classic band Limp Bizkit?  I knew you would be.

This is Dexter and he is graciously posing in front of three things that have made a difference in my muscle tightness from running:

I will have a post about each of these things, but today I am going to tell you about my foam roller and my love/hate relationship with it.

This is my foam roller that I bought from Red Coyote Running, but they are becoming more popular so you can buy them at Academy, Target, and even Wal-Mart. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the foam roller, here is some information about them:

1. The foam roller stretches muscles and tendons and also breaks down soft tissue adhesions (soft tissue that restricts normal movement and elasticity) and scar tissue.

2. Increases blood flow and circulation to the soft tissues.

3. It helps relieve pain and tightness in muscles.

The day after my relay race at the Dallas White Rock Marathon in 2011, my body shut down and my muscles were ridiculously tight.  My hip felt like it was going to snap off, and no amount of stretching or chiropractic work was helping me or the pain.  I learned about Active Release Technique and I started seeing Dr. Adams, who practices ART in a city nearby.  It took about 10 sessions to feel close to normal again and after taking nearly 2 1/2 months off of running, I started back again.  Not only did I get treated with ART, but I was shown some crucial exercises/self massages that aided in my recovery.

I mainly use the foam roller on these four areas:
1. IT Band
2. Quadriceps
3. Adductors
4. Hamstrings

Here are a couple of videos that show you how to use the foam roller on those areas.  I don’t use the foam roller on my calves, because I don’t feel any benefit.  I use a hand weight, and I’ll get to that in another post.

One thing that Dr. Adams taught me to do differently on the foam roller, is whenever I find an extra sore spot, stop completely on it, flex your feet and slowly kick your heel to your butt twice.  I should probably warn you that this hurts.  It hurts just to foam roll, but this process really hurts so do it after you get comfortable with the foam roller.  This process is supposed to really break up the adhesions in your muscles, and it DOES make a difference if you give it time.  When you first start foam rolling, it is going to hurt.  You may think that it’s useless and you are just hurting yourself for no reason, but I promise after you finish a foam rolling session, you will feel lighter and so much better.  You may not even think your muscles are tight, but I bet you that they are.

I roll for about 10 -15 minutes before a run and then I do the same after a run.  I can’t let Dexter be in the room when I roll after a run because I’m sweaty and he does this constantly:

That was taken during an actual foam rolling session.  You can also see the pink in my hair that STILL hasn’t come out after the Color Run.

In the next couple of weeks I will post about my other two running buddies, my lacrosse ball and my free weight/yoga block combo.