Postural Syndrome ART®
Mid-back Pain: Why do I have it?
So why do people get this problem?
So what’s the big deal? Why can’t you just rest and get over the soreness?
What is the best treatment option?
But what can ART® do for Postural Syndrome?
Ever experience pain in the portion of your back just between your shoulder blades and at the base of your neck? It seems to come on towards the end of the day after you have spent hours working at the computer or studying for a big test. It’s that aching pain that nags you just as you are trying to get to bed. This type of pain is not uncommon in the general population; in fact, I bet a lot of people you know have experienced the same thing. This condition is known as Postural Syndrome and as the name leads you to believe, the problem originates from poor posture. In fact, this type of musculoskeletal injury is on the rise due to the increase in number of desk jobs and computer user in the country; the U.S. Department of Labor stated office clerks are 6th on the list of jobs with the largest amount of predicted job openings from 2006 –2016.3
So why do people get this problem?
As stated before, the primary cause is usually bad posture; it turns out mother was right. Next time you are around someone who is typing away on a computer, notice how he or she is sitting. Most likely they have their upper back rounded forward and their neck is extended backwards, with their chin jutting towards their computer screen. This type of posture puts a large amount of work on the muscles of the mid-back and neck because they are constantly contracting to hold up the weight of the body against gravity. Because the contraction is constant, the muscle has no time to rest and recover as it would under normal conditions. As an example, think about holding something very heavy in your hand for a long time, would your forearms not be burning after a few minutes? Think about what they would feel like the next day after you held it for an hour, the typical time you would spend at the computer.
So what’s the big deal? Why can’t you just rest and get over the soreness?
Changes occur within the muscles after multiple periods of work like this and many times become chronic. First, the muscles do not receive as much blood, as they normally would, causing a build up of lactic acid, decrease in lymphatic drainage and causing tissue repair to become impaired, setting the stage for damage.1 Micro-tears occur within the muscle and are healed with fibrous scar tissue, which is much different than the original tissue, just like the scar on your knee. This new fibrous tissue has different properties than the original elastic tissue, causing the muscles to become more like a rope than a rubber band. As a result, the muscle has a limited ability to react to outside forces, as compared to normal and the stage is set for a painful injury. This is the stage most people are in when they hurt their back picking up a pencil.1 The fibrous tissue also is laid down in a haphazard fashion, causing different muscles and even nerves to stick together in a big knot. Now the muscles have become tense, weak and painful to the touch. It would not be far fetched to say that at this point, the muscles do not function as efficiently as they once had; for this reason, the cycle continues and feeds upon itself.
What is the best treatment option?
Active Release Techniques® (ART®) is a relatively new soft tissue technique, which can be used to treat and cure a variety of conditions that would be normally treated with surgery or physical therapy, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, Dequervain’s syndrome, or extensor tendonitis of the forearm (tennis elbow). Invented by Dr. Michael Leahy, it is a technique, which can address problems involving muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves and vasculature; in fact, it includes over 300 protocols for almost all the muscles in the body, making it an extremely specific and precise treatment. It is also the first successful non-surgical method of treating nerve entrapments. Many times it proves to be the most economical treatment option as well; for this reason, many corporations have an ART® provider on the job site to treat workers before they develop Worker’s Compensation claims.
But what can ART® do for Postural Syndrome?
In September 1999, a study was published in The Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation regarding the effectiveness of ART® in cumulative trauma disorders (CTD) cases of the upper extremity. An ART® provider, with only six months experience, was asked to treat 28 patients with epicondylitis (tennis elbow), carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis, all of which are similar to Postural Syndrome in the way they develop. All of the patients had tried medical treatment prior to the study with limited results. Results of the study revealed a 71% improvement rate within one to three months of treatment2. The mechanism by which ART® resolves muscular conditions is by breaking up the reoccurring cycle and letting the muscle relax, restoring the natural length-tension relationship. In fact, it is so effective that most patients have a significant change within the first 4 to 6 visits. Most providers find that their success rate is around 80% or higher. Dr. Leahy has found that he can resolve most soft tissue conditions in 90% of his patients. I have found that patients come to ART® only through word of mouth and as a last resort; these are the people that get fixed.
For more on ART® or to find a provider in your area: www.activerelease.com
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(1) Hammer, Warren. Functional Soft Tissue Examination and Treatment by Manual Methods. 2nd. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers, 1999, Pg 396 – 397. (2) Schiottz-Christensen, Berit, Mooney, Azad, Selstad, Gulick, Bracker. "The Role of Active Release Manual Therapy for Upper Extremity Overuse Syndromes—A Preliminary Report." Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation Volume 9. Number 3September 1999 201 – 211. 07/31/2007 <http://www.springerlink.com/content/vq815728g8852226/>. (3) "Table 7. The 30 occupations with the largest number of total job openings due to growth and net replacements, 2006-2016." Bureau of Labor Statistics. 04 December, 2007. United States Department of Labor. 21 Apr 2008 <http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.t07.htm>.
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P3 Sports Care, previously Orange County Pain Management, has been serving Southern California for over 5 years. Although many of our patients live right in the city of Huntington Beach, many of them will come from a great distance to receive our Active Release Techniques®, Chiropractic Care, and Rehabilitation. Our customer service is second to none; our patients always come first. Even patients who are afraid of going to a chiropractor love our style of care.
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