ART Case Study

Training Bodybuilding
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Thanks, Rob! The reason I did it as a post on the forum is because I figured Chris Shugart probably had a lot of articles in the pipeline. It might have been a while before it got published, and I had a lot of people asking me about my ART experience.

When I met with Dr. Gregg the first time, I asked him if I could write up the whole experience and if he would come online and answer questions. He agreed enthusiastically.

I think the reason the post turned out as good as it did is because he told me what to write, used the correct terms, and even proofed it for me before I posted it. In a way it was an article. It was definitely long enough for one. (grin)

I’ll repeat for everyone’s benefit, I believe Dr. Gregg’s in the process of moving to Florida. Please check back. I know he’ll answer all your questions eventually.

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Chivas, do a search on the word Leahy to the left of your screen. He’s the guy who developed and patented ART. Just be sure to change T-Forums to T-Mag. I also answered your question in my OVERLY lengthy, comprehensive (long-winded?) post.

It’s a type of body work that breaks up adhesions. It increases ROM and reduces (or eliminates) pain. It’s helpful in repetitive-strain type injuries. Think of golf, a baseball pitcher, anyone who runs or lifts; bench pressing, squatting, deadlifting, etc.

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Popasquat, are you talking about a line from your neck down to your elbow while you are benching (basically running down your arm) or for example while you are standing straight with your arms at your side? The reason I ask, is because if it is the latter, that is one of the problems I am resolving through ART right now. I have a knot just inside my shoulder blade on my right side, it is a trigger point and when I massage it, it relieves some of the tightness in my neck and trap. I have only had one treatment thus far, but it did bring some immediate relief, but I will need a few more treatments before it is pain free.

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Tampa Terry…

Before I ask this question I want to emphasize that I mean no disrespect or saracasm…I always make a point to read anything you post because of your friendly nature and vast knowledge.

However, my curiosity is killing me! What do you do for a living because I want that job! You are always on this site - not a bad thing at all because you are so helpful…

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Oogie, nope, no disrespect or sarcasm taken.

Let’s see. Would you believe me if I told you I was INDEPENDENTLY WEALTHY and was currently going through an 8-step program for my T-Mag addiction? (chuckling)

Mostly I go through fits and starts, but I do try to follow-up with anything I started (the ART Case Study thread, in this case) or answered.

66

Hey everyone,
I’m sorry I haven’t been on in awhile but like Tampa Terry told everyone I’m in the process of moving to Florida so internet access is limited for a little bit. But I’ll try to answer as many questions right now.

Popasquat,
It sounds like you have a nerve entrapment and yes ART is the perfect treatment. Overuse injuries produce scar tissue and binds down nerves and cause that shooting pain. ART will break down that scar tissue and free the nerve in order for it to heal effectively. Good Luck

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Moemann,
The reason you are getting the pain is because of increased tension in the muscle pulling on the bone. Even though the Bone scan is negative there can be irritation of the outer lining (periosteum) of the bone. Art treatment will break up adhesions and decrease tension in those deep posterior calf muscles and thus let the body heal properly. Try it you’ll be amazed!

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Jeppuda,
ART certification is broken into 3 parts upper, lower and spine. Unfortunately some people get ART certified cause it’s the new popular thing but they don’t use it all day long in their clinic so obviously they are not perfecting their skills. If you ask the developper, Dr. Leahy, he’ll admit that he will be better next month then he is today just because of ongoing practice. If you don’t use it you lose it. I’m certified in all 3 areas of the body and you must continue getting re-certified every year. I use ART all day long every day. I do treat the whole body but I like to think with all my ongoing studies I specialize in shoulders. You need to find someone who can examine you and provide an effective ART session to get results.
Good Luck

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Dr. Gregg,

Can you recomend anyone in California (I am in Angwin if you know where that is)
How about New York?

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Thanks for the quick respones. Do you know of anyone in the Louisiana area?

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Can ART help with a herniated disc at all? My doctor said that it could actually make it worse…

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Dr. Gregg,

I was looking through the ART website and found that that most are certified in upperextremitiess, lower extremities, and spine. However some people also have biomechanics. Is this important? I am asking because the ones that also have biomechanics are much further away. I am asking because I have no transportaion at the moment and was goning to take a cab there. If the biomechanics makes a big difference than I will go to a ART provider who is also qualified in biomechanics. Thanks

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bump,

Dr. Gregg, I am curious to know if shoulder pain can cause pain in the center of chest. thanks

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jeppuda & rasmns, try PM’ing Dr. Gregg. If I remember correctly, he’s probably out of town, preparing for his boards, and probably doesn’t have access to Internet & email. If you PM him, I’m sure he’ll reply as soon as he gets back online.

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Tampa Terry, thanks for the informative review. Have had my mind set to find a good ART doc as soon as my insurance benefits kick in within the year. Have had a history of terrible neck/back pain and inflammation problems for the last 8 or so years stemming from a high-school football injury. After having one or more x-rays, bonescans, myelograms, bloodtests, MRI’s, and medical doctor’s and chiropractic’s evaluations, I’ve been told that I’m “screwed up” and exploratory surgery would be the only other option. I’m won’t even consider risking it and am sure it wouldn’t help my particular condition anyway. After reading Shugart’s interview with Leahy a good while ago and learning a bit more about ART since then, I began to better understand the resoning behind the worsening pain in my neck along with the more frequent paralyzing inflammation from various physical triggers on that injured area. (such as turning my neck to fast looking in a different direction or bowing a bit to cheat that last rep on the bench) Afterwards I’m left in a soft neck brace for a few days to prevent excessive movement (due to the INTENSE pain) while ‘healing’. It sounds as if there’s anything that may be able to help a bit, it’s this and is definately worth a shot. I would’ve never even heard of ART if not for people like you and many others around here that take the time out to write about such things. I really appreciate you, Dr. Gregg’s, and everyone elses comments and feedback on this site. Thanks a lot.

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Hey, there, T-Peeps. I just heard from Dr. Gregg. I was right. He has no access to email or Internet. He asked me to post a message and let you know that he’ll reply to all your posts and PMs this coming Friday.

WolfGrave, boy, it sounds like you’ve been living with that injury for WAY too long! Yes, ART is worth a shot. You’ll know pretty fast whether it can help you or not. It’s not the sort of thing where you’ll be going to a chiropractor three times a week for the rest of your life. It’s one of those get-in, get-fixed, get-on-with-your-life!

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hey i posted this in another thread and again i should have posted this here. thanks TT!

"i was doing sandbags this week on tuesday, workout went fine felt good. then about ten-20 mins after workout i go to put the heavy sandbag back in place where i store it, once i drop it, bam, no snap or nothing but i feel like i strained something badly. pain when i flex my arm and fully extend it… i have no insurance so im hoping it heals up… the pain is also in the forearm area (where supposedly some bicep muscle attaches into)… it’s gotten slightly better but i just have a feeling this time its not gonna be an easy recovery… "

i made an appointment to see an ortho but by the time i see him i think i’ll be old and grey (almost 2 weeks).

so one q i have is, if i completely tore a tendon/ligament in this area, wouldn’t the strength in my forearm/grip/bicep be almost 0? i still have quite a bit of strength in it, but it is very painful… mostly painful when i fully extend it or flex it at my elbow (like a bicep flex). and i dont see any swelling or bruising.

the exact area: ok im looking straight ahead, its the right arm, in the little crevice where the elbow bends on the inside, and it is just a little up and to the right of the middle (up and to the right of that vein right in the middle of where the arm bends)… on my forearm area… thats just to help! if you can understand it… :slight_smile:

OK I PROMISE THIS IS THE LAST INJURY CAUSED BY STUPIDITY! :frowning:

this might not be an art specific question but i really would appreciate a response, you guys seem to have great knowledge with these injuries.

working hard, making progress, then bam, injury, the story of my life… :slight_smile:

hey it coulda been worse, blah, peace

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Hello Dr. Greg,
I’m having difficulty along my illiotibial band on the left side of my body. It’s resticting my squat depth and causes me pain when I move my hip in various positions. It’s been a problem that has been re-occuring for a few years. It is very frustrating. I’m currently in Naples so I’d imagine it would take me about 3 hours to reach you. Unfortuneatly I’ll be moving on April 28th but I’d love to come see you once or twice before I leave. How about it?

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Well, I guess it’s time for an update since I’m going on a month post-ART.

Dr. Gregg’s not going to be happy with me. I haven’t been as conscientious as I should have been with my stretches. I do do them intermittently. And I do do the ones I know I’m supposed to in conjunction with specific exercises; i.e., work calves, stretch calves; work pecs, stretch pecs.

However, I just keep getting more and more excited about the results of my little “ART vacation.” When Dr. Gregg had me do a functional squat, I leaned way too far forward. Tight psoas(s), among other things. I have been stretching them; just not daily. Well, I was talking to a guy in the gym about ART and showed him what my squat USED to look like and what the ideal is (torso ALMOST perpendicular to the floor, say 80-85 degrees). I REALLY AM able to to do a functional squat with correct form. I saw it in the mirror. I’m still a little shaky, but my heels don’t lift up off the floor. I’ll have to start over at lower weight when I start squatting again. But the point is, I’ll be doing so with CORRECT FORM!!!

My elbow is the other thing I’m excited about. There wasn’t an hour out of any day that I wasn’t aware of it and favoring it. I couldn’t hold a water bottle without accomodating my elbow. It has CONTINUED TO HEAL AND IMPROVE since I first posted this thread.

I’m doing pullups (mixed grip) and hammer curls and bent-over rows (all with palms facing each other) for reasons stated above. I’m doing EDT in the gym. So we’re talking all-out, hardcore, kick-butt workouts in the gym again. My elbow will act up every once in a while. When it does, I make a point of icing it and using Traumeel. But honestly, whole days go by where I don’t even THINK about my elbow. It no longer affects my sleep. I can carry laundry and groceries without worrying that it will cause a flare-up. At times I have to go hunting just to find out where it hurts.

I’m taking high-dose r-ALA and Glucosamine HCl and 6g of EPA/DHA daily. I’ll repeat for everyone that where Tennis Elbow is concerned (lateral epicondylitis), the nerve and tendons take longer to heal. There were little micro-tears in the tendons, which is why I’m using the supplements I’m using and why I’m using EDT instead of, say, a 5x5 program.

My posture is better. My hyperlordosis is continuing to improve (another reason to start doing my psoas stretches daily). The kink in my neck never returned. My SHOULDER DOESN’T BOTHER ME ANYMORE. The shoulder, too, is going to heal at a slower rate. The muscular and capsular tightness are gone, but the crepitus (bone-on-bone) will probably take a few months to heal. Supplementation with Glucosamine HCL and fish oil and possibly some Wobenzyme will/would all support the process. But once again, my shoulder no longer affects my sleep. I can sleep on either shoulder without accomodation. And I NEVER wake up in the morning with a sore shoulder.

So for those of you who are wondering whether ART works and whether it CONTINUES to work, I’m happy to say yes it does. In fact it’s gotten better and better. It was a significant investment of time and resources on my part to travel out of state for 6 days of treatment, but I’ve never done anything in my life that’s made as much of a difference in the quality of my life and functionality as getting ART.

Thanks, Dr. Gregg!!!

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Hey everyone,
Sorry about the short disapearance act but I was in the process of moving to Florida so I had no access to internet for awhile but I’m back to answer any questions and pm’s.

Iamnobody,
Sounds like you strained your flexor compartment more precisely the structures of the cubital tunnel (that crevice at the elbow) In that area is more then just muscle. The median nerve also crosses in that area. Without treatment obviously it will take longer to heal but things you can do is ice and light stretching. Unless you have lots of bruising and complete weakness then you can safely assume you don’t have a muscle tear but you probably have some microtears in the bicep.
Let me know how your doing good luck
Gregg