I was in a car accident almost exactly two years ago. I sprained three ribs, one on the right and two on the left - all on the same vertabrae. I saw a chriopractor for months, and got much better. I reinjured the ribs last winter in a riding accident. They have since healed again - mostly. In the past 9 weeks I have really stepped up my workouts, and I have noticed that the left side of my back is slowly contracting. Even with streching I can not relieve the pressure. Yesterday while doing curls I noticed that I ‘hitch’ my left shoulder when lifting. Currently my left hip is about an inch higher than my right and my left shoulder is about 2 inches lower. When I have asked before people have recommended ART and I have yet to have an appointment. What I want to know is how immediate are the results, how painful are the treatments, and how long does that pain last? I have a 5 mile canoe race on Sunday and may be able to have an ART appointment beforehand, but will I make things even worse? I’m on a triathalon team, so others are depending on me, I’m just not sure which is the lesser of two evils - competing all twisted up like this, and dealing with the pain (not a big deal) or trying the ART but feeling worse afterwards. I know that I’m not going to gain any strength or anything like that, but I’m sure I will do better if I can sit up stratight and use my muscles ‘evenly’
Michelle, I would highly recommend ART. I have had shoulder pain for the last 2 years that has made benching and shoulder presses quite painfull. I have had 6 ART sessions and physio to strengthen a muscle imbalance and am now pain free. I tried chiro and massage for a long time, but it was only a temporary fix. Before ART,I was missing workouts due to pain and making no progross and now I am getting stronger.
How painful the treatments are depends on your tollerance. I have a very high pain tollerance. Since you play rugby and are a tri-athelete I would imagine you do as well. I would say due to that most likely it will not be a painfull treatment for you. The results are immediate however usually it takes several visits to make them permanant as you can only do so much to soft tissues before you reach a point of diminishing returns. Very unlikely you will feel worse after ART. If anything worst case you will feel nothing best case it will be much better. Actually I did gain strenght when I had it done cause my shoulder was so locked up that when they unlocked it I had new range of motion which=more strenght through a movement. I cannot recomend this treatment enough. Did you read the article with Lehey in t-mag. I think it was called the miracle worker? It was good but if you want to know more read the art site. I have as trust is not one of my stronger qualities.
Canoe in a triathlon? You must be doing Ski-to-Sea or a similar multi-sport race. My take – if you’re apprehensive about the treatment, and you know you can deal with the pain of your current state and perform well, then I’d postpone the treatment until after the race. Your body has adapted to it’s current structure. Changing that via adjustment could cause extreme pain during the competetion due to the muscles not being accustomed to the structure.
I tried ART (5 sessions) when I was having pain and tightness in my upper back (trap and rhomboid) and was happy with the results. The results were not immediate for me…usually I would be very loose with a bit of dull soreness, but nothing that would have prevented me from competing or doing anything else. I thought the treatments were pretty intense, but they felt really good. I would say it’s no quick fix, though. I didn’t get permanent relief until a while after the last treatment. It should also help your shoulders even out.
I’ve read all the stuff on t-mag about ART and read the ART website. The closest practitioner is about 50 miles from me, at a chriopractic college. The only bonus is I think it’s the same college that does free adjustments at the race I’m going to be at. As for the triathalon, it’s a team one, the Great Race in Auburn. It’s run, bike, canoe and they have two courses, the long is only for teams, but the short can be teams or solo (using one man canoes).
The bottom line with ART is the skill of the practicioner. Try to find at least a level 2 practioner. This will assure proficiency as his technique has been tested by the experts. ART is uncomfortable but should be applied in a “hurts so good” fashion. Results are typically immediate (depending on the skill of the practioner in identifying affected tissues)and relatively permanent. It may take a few treatments to maximize your progress depending on how “old” the injury is and the extent of the injury. At the ART training courses I’ve seen Dr. Leahy make unbelieveable changes in patients with one treatment. Then again, his hands and his brain function on a totally different different level than the rest of us mortals. My advice to you is to drive as far as you need to for the treatment. Also call directly to ART because they have the complete list of practitioners. Not all are on the website. Good luck.
ART is a beautiful thing. I had shoulder pain (benching…), hip pain (poor squat form and tight psoas) and shin pain (sprinting on concrete). Each was alleviated after one or two sessions and my attention to warmups, stretching and form. One thing I loved about my doc was he would tell me to go work out and see how it performed. No babying the problem area at all. I ALWAYS felt better after a session. Pain - lots of pain for me. But I asked for it. I told him to go for it and do whatever he needed to tear away the scar tissue and align the muscle fibers. He wasn’t shy in his torture. I asked if he had ever been punched by anyone in retaliation. He said he had been threatened - all in good humor. Yes it hurt momentarily, but it hurts so good. Good luck with your session and your race. Let us know how everything goes.
The practitioner I found is in Seneca Falls New York and is listed on the ART website as an instructor. I would assume if he can teach ART he’s good at it, but then again you know what happens when one ‘assumes’ I’ve called his office twice but still haven’t gotten a response…(yes, I know, Dr’s lead busy lives!) Hopefully I’ll see someone in the near future, either that or I’m going to have to adjust to looking like a pretzel!!! Ironic - that’s just what I wanted to hear. I don’t have any issues with pain (like many brain dead athletes, I’ve played long after pain should have stopped me - and that’s a bad thing!) and if it’s going to fix me in the long run I’m all for it! So, just so i’m clear, define ‘momentarily’ please. grin
Get it done! I’ve treated people 30 minutes before Ironman (the full distance) triathlons, and they benefitted. the treatment can be painful, but if you are an athlete, you will appreciate the improved function. As the other provider stated, it should be a hurts good kind of feel. The level of skill of a provider is important, since it is a hands on therapy that is skill based. I have taken through level three(biomechanics) and have worked at five ironmans. Experience matters in ART.
Michelle, give Dale Buchberger a call. you won’t be disappointed. He’s an ART instructor with a great clinical mind, and has worked with Dr. Leahy close to 10 years. Tell him Tom from Pa. said hi.
Thanks Irondoc. I was told there is someone in my town (for some reason he is not on the ART site though), but if Dale is that good I’ll go see him. I’m going to call again this afternoon. The chiropractic college was not at the race this year, but I did get a short massage after the race. By the way, we won our age group WOO HOO! We’ve copeted with the same team for 5 years and never managed to get an award, and this time we won!! Ok, I admit it, we were screaming and jumping up and down in the tent when the results went up 
AND at the finish line one of the race workers said ‘I saw you take off at the change over, we were all cheering for you, nice run’ It was so awesome!!! My dad and I blew past 19 boats, no one we passed even cam close to catching up. Two boats passed us like we were standing still though…that was frusterating!!! It was so awesome to have our hard work pay off! (sorry, still giddy from the win!)
Off to ART at 3:00! A doc in my town was recommended to me, and I spoke to him just now on the phone. He seemed quite interested in working with me, so hopefully he’ll be able to help me out. I’ll let you know how it goes!!
Good luck Michelle! I’m sure you’ll be glad you gave it a try. Glad to see your race did well. It could be tought getting ahold of Dale at times. He’s a great doc, but remember he has a private practice, is an ART instructor, and is a chiropractic college instructor, with a little research thrown in on the side. He’s also probably one of the most knowledgable shoulder people out there.
Michelle, just keep the leather between you and the horse and you won’t have any more accidents.