Soft tissue injuries are not just the most common injury in sports, but also in everyday life and work. Injuries to soft tissue encompass muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, nerves and nerve entrapments. Active Release Technique or Therapy is becoming the gold standard for treating these soft tissue injuries.
Soft tissue injuries most commonly occur due to:
- Overuse (micro-trauma)
- Repetitive Trauma (hypoxia or not getting enough oxygen
- Acute conditions (sprain, muscle strain)
Symptoms of soft tissue injuries:
- Pain usually described as dull or achy.
- Loss of range of motion
- Loss of strength
- If a nerve is entrapped then you may experience numbness or tingling
Common soft tissue injuries:
- Neck (cervical) strain/sprain
- Mid back (thoracic) strain/sprain
- Low back (lumbar) sprain/strain
- Rotator cuff tendinitis
- Carpal tunnel
- Tennis and Golfer’s elbow
- Hamstring strains
- Calf strains
- Plantar fasciitis
However, there are many soft tissue injuries that you may not recognize such as back pain after bending over to tie your shoes or pick something up off the floor.
In each of these injuries, your body produces scar tissue in the affected area. Scar tissue restricts tissue from moving freely. As it builds up, muscle become shorter and weaker, which places tension on tendons causing tendinitis or causing nerves to become entrapped causing tingling or numbness.
If you are experiencing any of these injuries, find an Active Release Technique Provider near you. http://www.activerelease.com/find-a-provider.asp
