What is Active Release Technique?

Those not familiar with the sports arena, may have noticed the acronym A.R.T. being thrown around by a lot of practitioners, especially chiropractors and orthopedic/sports physical therapy facilities. But what is it and how can it help you?

In this blog entry (I know I haven't posted in a while), I'll try to shed some light for you on what this is an how you can benefit from it.

What is A.R.T.?

A.R.T. is a patented soft-tissue movement based massage technique with the goal of breaking down scar tissue and restoring mobility. A.R.T. can be used to treat muscle, tendon, fascia, ligament, and nerves. Most conditions successfully treated by A.R.T. have one thing in common: they are overuse injuries.

What are Overuse Injuries?

In short, overuse injuries occur when the body is not able to accommodate the loads placed on tissue over time. As opposed to acute injuries where significant trauma may occur, overuse injuries build over time due to microtrauma. Microtrauma can be the result of athletic activities, or just the repetitive nature of our daily lives (like spending numerous hours at a computer).

What are some Overuse Conditions?

Some examples of Overuse Conditions that could benefit from A.R.T. are:

- Rotator Cuff Tendinitis

- Tennis Elbow

- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

- IT Band Syndrome

- Jumper's Knee (Knee Tendinitis)

- Hamstring Tendinitis

- Achilles Tendinitis

- Plantar Fasciitis

- And much, much more!!

How Do I Get It?

ESPT is one of the few physical therapy facilities in the Tri-City Area (Fremont, Newark, Union City) that offers A.R.T. Another example of our commitment to keeping up with cutting-edge techniques to make sure you get the care you deserve and the results you want.

Our physical therapist Gigi Yee, DPT, ART, CSCS is not only certified in the A.R.T. technique, she's completed an Ironman distance triathlon, where A.R.T. is considered paramount in helping some of these athletes achieve their goals.

For more information about A.R.T. or to schedule your treatment session at Elite Sports Physical Therapy, give us a call at 510-656-3777 or check out our website at www.espt-ca.com.

Another MMA Fighter Working With ESPT

Elite Sports Physical Therapy is pleased to announce that we are working with MMA fighter Dominique Robinson, "The Real Fallen Angel."

Dominique is a young up and coming MMA fighter who's origins lie in the deep south of Louisiana. He began his training at American Kickboxing Academy under the tutelage of Bob Cook. He left when Frank Shamrock had a falling out with the gym. After splitting with Frank, he began to offer himself up as a training partner for the Cesar Gracie Fight Team.

Currently Domique works with Felipe Martinez on his boxing and calls this 2-Man Band the "Goon Squad."He is willing to go where he can to seek knowledge and take is MMA fighting the the next level. At the current time, he is the only fighter to have studied under both the Shamrock and Gracie families. Dominique has a career record of 6-4 with 4 TKO's and 2 Decisions. 

We are proud that we can help Dominique continue to pursue his fighting dreams. You too can have access to the elite care that the The Real Fallen Angel receives. For information how, you can check out our website at www.espt-ca.com.

ESPT Supports Olympic Hopefuls!

At Elite Sports Physical Therapy, we pride ourselves in providing the highest level of sports and orthopedic rehabilitation. And we could receive no greater compliment, than to have people recognize us for the quality of our work. So it gives us great pleasure, to be able to sponsor Sho Nakamori in his quest for London 2012. You can check out his website here.

Few physical therapy clinics in the Fremont or Dublin areas could probably claim they serve this caliber of athlete. This a true testament to ESPT's commitment to providing the best physical therapy care possible. Nobody combines clinical excellence, first-class customer service, and cutting-edge technology like ESPT.

"I’m very fortunate to have Jacon on my side as I continue about this journey of mine!," says Sho on his website. And we are very honored to be working with Sho at ESPT.

With one of the few Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialists in the Bay Area available to the public, ESPT should be your #1 choice for sports and orthopedic rehabilitation. "We see patients from as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Carmel. It's thrilling to have people seek you out because they believe you can help them out," says Jacon C. Chun, MPT, SCS, ATC, CSCS, ESPT's Director of Physical Therapy.

For more information about how you too can receive the same level of care that professional athletes and olympians receive, check out our website at www.espt-ca.com. With convenient locations in Dublin and Fremont, ESPT is easily accessible for all your sports and orthopedic rehabilitation needs.

TRX Is Here!!

TR Suspension Training is now available at ESPT Fremont and will be coming to ESPT Dublin. Born in the U.S. Navy Seals, TRX Suspension Training is a revolutionary method of leveraged body weight exercise being used by pro athletes and fitness facilities. Easily set up TRX users can safely perform hundreds of exercises that can build power, strength, flexibility, balance, and mobility. In addition to training, sports physical therapists are now using TRX to rehab patients and athletes.

TRX is a wonderful tool for all levels of patients. Users can easily adjust the resistance to meet their needs, while challenging muscles in multiple planes. Multi-planar movements are much more functional than standard one plane exercises. The result is more specific training, that is more similar to how we actually use muscles.

Even though TRX weighs less than 2-lbs., it delivers greater performance and functionality than large machines that cost thousands of dollars. As a result, it is seeing great adoption in fitness facilities across the nation. It is available at many Bay Area health clubs, and there is even a TRX specific training facility in San Francisco.

Call us in Fremont at 510.656.3777 to set up your appointment to try the TRX. Coming in the future to our facility in Dublin.

Follow Us

Elite Sports Physical Therapy is one of the few physical therapy clinics in both the Tri-City and Tri-Valley areas that you can follow on social media. You can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, of check us out on YouTube.

In our current world text messages, tweets, updates, and emails, this is the wave of the future and ESPT is not afraid to be a leader. Check in with us on a regular basis to get updates on the clinic, including postings for upcoming events and information about how to best care for yourself.

For more information about ESPT, visit our website at www.espt-ca.com or call us in Fremont (510.656.3777) or Dublin (925.452.4656)

Prevent Pediatric Sports Injuries With ESPT

As summer ends and we get ready to embark on another school year, that means student-athletes will be starting practice with competitions soon to follow. Depending on off-season conditioning, the coach's awareness of injury prevention, and the athlete's own physical development, some of these students will end up with aches and pains, while others will be able to avoid them altogether.

"What's most disappointing is the majority of these injuries are totally preventable," says Jacon C. Chun, MPT, SCS, ATC, CSCS, Director of Physical Therapy at Elite Sports Physical Therapy (ESPT). "Simple preventative measures such as adequate rest, hydration, flexibility, strength, and support, could mean the difference between sitting on the bench to recover or staying healthy and playing regularly in competitions."

ESPT is better equipped than any other clinic in Fremont to address the issues these young athletes face. With the only Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialist in the city leading the clinical team, you can be sure that each treatment program will be individualized for the injured athlete's particular sport and needs.

One key in treating young athletes is to remember that children are not little adults. Things that you can use in designing programs for grown-ups, need to be modified when you are dealing with an immature musculoskeletal system. "The last thing we want to do is cause more harm, when we are trying to do good," say Chun.

Another reason ESPT is more appropriately suited for these young athletes, is the fact that they can offer the most 1-on-1 Physical Therapist time in Fremont. With children, we can't expect them to have the same attention span as adults. So most children cannot be left alone to perform exercises. They need proper supervision and instruction at all times. This will allow for greater adherence to to proper technique and successful completion of each and every treatment session. This practice model is why we will afford the greatest opportunity for success when working with young athletes.

Combine our clinical expertise and first-class service with some of the newest, cutting-edge equipment and it's not hard to see why ESPT should be your first choice for an Outpatient Physical Therapy clinic in Fremont. Not just for young athletes, but for patients of all ages.

For more information about our services and how we can help you get rid of pain and get back in the game, contact us at 510.656.3777 or check us out at www.espt-ca.com.

What's With The Tape?

Most people watching the olympics in Beijing were probably attracted to the colorful tape seen on numerous athletes throughout the event. It was present on track athletes, water polo players, basketball players, and for us in the US, especially on Beach Volleyball athlete Kerri Walsh.

I'm sure people were probably asking themselves some of the following questions: "What is the function of that stuff?" or "Does it really have any medical benefits?" or "Can I get some of that?"Well I'm here to inform you on what the "stuff" is and to tell you where you can get it.

What Is It?
The tape seen on all these athletes is called Kinesiotape and it was developed by Dr. Kenzo Kase over 25 years ago in Japan. The Kinesiotaping method uses patented tape to help treat musculoskeletal disorders and assist with lymphedema reduction. Since it's introduction into the United States medical arena, Kinesiotape has been used by all practitioners including: physicians, athletic trainers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, and muscle therapists. The tape can be worn for several days with comfort and ease, thus allowing the individual using it to receive the therapeutic benefits 24 hours per day. It is currently used in hospitals, clinics, high schools, and professional sports teams.

How Does It Work?
Application

The tape can applied two ways: UNSTRETCHED or STRETCHED. Both provide different desirable effects for the body, resulting in decreased pain and thus, increased performance.

UNSTRETCHED: With this application method, the SKIN over the affected area is stretched before the kinesiotape is applied. After application, the taped skin will form convolutions when the skin and muscles contract back to their normal position. The convolutions lifts the skin, and the flow of blood and lymphatic fluid beneath the skin improve.

STRETCHED: If joints or ligaments are injured, the TAPE should be stretched before application on the skin. This will allow the tape to hold some tension and to take the place of the damaged joints or ligaments.

ORIGIN-TO-INSERTION: Starting from where the muscle begins (origin), tape is laid along it and ends where the muscle ends (insertion). This is typically used for support by pulling and stimulating the skin/muscle back towards the point of origin, thus assisting with muscle contraction.

INSERTION-TO-ORIGIN: This is used for preventing cramping or overcontraction (overuse) of muscles. The tape is laid from the end of the muscle back towards the starting point. This is good also for strain/sprains and tendon injuries where it is desirable to decr. tension/stress on tendons, muscles, or ligaments.

What's So Special About The Tape?

To ensure that the muscles can still move freely, Kinesiotaping is most effective with elastic tapes that have an elasticity of 130-140% of its original length. This will allow the muscle and joint to maintain its free range of motion, which will then allow the body's muscular system to heal itself bio-mechanically.

The elasticity of the tape also creates the convolutions on the skin, which help facilitate lymphatic drainage and improve circulation. This results in pressure and irritation being moved off of neural and sensory receptors, thereby alleviating pain.

How Can I Get It?
You can check out Kinesio Taping at their website at: http://www.kinesiotaping.com/. Or be on the lookout at ESPT, as we will be providing this service in the very near future.

Tiger Woods' Knee

On my way to work I usually listen to sports radio and catch the top 6 sports news stories from the day before, just as I walk into the office. Today, the #1 story was Tiger Woods' season ending knee surgery. As I had a little bit more time to think about and learn what he had been diagnosed with, it brought into perspective just how amazing his win this past weekend was.

So lets summarize some the medical findings that came to light:

1) Tiger Woods will have ACL reconstruction on his left knee and will be out the rest of the season. This is for an ACL tear he say he sustained jogging in July 2007.

2) He had been diagnosed with stress fractures in his left tibia 2 weeks prior to the US Open and his doctors recommended he not compete.

Based on these findings, here are some ponderings I had today on how amazing an athlete Tiger Woods is:

Realization #1: Tiger Woods has been playing with a torn ACL. Specifically a torn ACL in his left knee. And he hasn't just been playing, he has been winning!!! He won the PGA Championship last year, the BMW championship and a few other tournaments to end 2007, he came in 2nd at the Master's this year, then won the US Open this past week. ALL ON ONE KNEE!!!!! For those of you who do not know much about the ACL, that is a major stabilizing ligament in the knee. Without it, the knee usually feels unstable and the shear forces and torque produced in the knee are higher than normal. These forces could possibly lead to incr. stress on the cartilage and meniscus. And for a right handed golfer with a swing like Tiger's, the forces on his left knee are probably ridiculous.

Realization #2: I have read articles where people have been questioning Tiger's timing in electing an April surgery, but like anybody else, Tiger Woods probably wanted to try all his options before going to the last resort- ACL reconstruction. This explains his decision to have arthroscopic surgery in April. I would assume this was a debridement type surgery where his surgeon would just clean out some of the damaged cartilage, so he would not get as much pain and stiffness. If the strength would return and his knee would feel stable, he could then opt for the ACL reconstruction at a later date. Usual timeline for rehab in this type of surgery is 4-6 weeks. Obviously this was not enough.

Realization #3: Perhaps trying to push his progress after the surgery, the stress to Tiger's knee after eventually lead to fractures in his tibia. Painful, but with time these will heal. It is amazing though that he walked 7,607 yards x 5 over the weekend with these fractures. All I can say is this guy is a gamer!!!

Realization #4: I am sure that the doctors went over all this with Tiger, and he said himself that he probably should have heeded their advice. Which probably would have meant having that knee surgery last year in July, after a problem with the ACL was discovered. But for an athlete that had yet to win a Major in 2007 and that was probably trying to win the FedEx Cup, staying in the game was the only option. Once again, the competitive nature of these elite athletes is something that is difficult for most of us in the general public to understand.

Having worked with athletes for the majority of my professional career, I understand how special some of these situations/competitions are for them and how special they are. And many times, my job is to help them just be ready and get by. Of course I have opinions about what is medically sound and what is not, but many of the decisions I leave up to the athlete. Because I'll never be their shoes. I'll never know what it's like to compete at the Olympic games or an NCAA championship. I'll never walk 18 holes in a US Open playoff at Torrey Pines with a chance to cement my place in history as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, golfer of all time. So, all can really do is watch, be amazed, and be ready when these athletes come calling.