The Cumulative Injury Cycle:

Understanding the process of Cumulative Trauma is key to breaking the cycle of repetitive injury. After an injury occurs, whether it is acute or chronic, your body begins to heal the damaged tissues. The inflammatory process begins as the injured tissues are repaired. During this process, scar tissue is laid down (just like when you cut your skin) in order to strengthen the weakened structures. This scar tissue does not stretch and is considered "non-functional" tissue. As you become more active and begin to use that part of your body that was injured, these tissues are expected to stretch and slide as you move. In the presence of scar tissue this does not happen very well and further injury and inflammation can occur. Decreasing the amount of scar tissue and inflammation is vital in decreasing injury duration, repeat injuries, and thus avoiding a decreased performance to help you reach your performance goals. The Active Release Techniques are specifically designed to break this cycle and work very quickly and effectively to eliminate long term damage.