A.R.T./Graston Patient Testimonial & Practitioner Recommendation Archive

[Adam Reyer]

This Forum is for sharing patient testimonials about any experiences you've had with Active Release or Graston Technique treatments - including any feedback you might have on the specific practitioner you used so that other M.A.N. Members can find the best practitioners.

[Adam Reyer]

I have had INCREDIBLE SUCCESS with both A.R.T.and Graston for treating the following injuries:
- Shoulder Tendonitis
- Patella Chondromalacia (Runner's Knee)
- Patellar Tendonitis
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Middle Back Soreness
- Lower Back Stiffness
- Improved Flexibility in Quadriceps and Hamstrings

My practitioner is M.A.N. Member, Andy Smith, who practices in Sterling, VA and is phenomenal!

Andy's fellow A.R.T. practitioner at Advanced Chiropractic & Massage is M.A.N. Member, Tim Scheuerman, who I'm sure is also great (he treats several of the Washington Redskins). Tim has helped me with orthodics, which keep Plantar Fasciitis away, and advice on Omega 3s and Omega 3 Co-Factors.

They also share their office with a Massage Therapist (Pam) who performs complementary massage therapy to Andy & Tim's treatment with their guidance - I've yet to have Pam work on me but plan to soon.

[Elaine]

A.R.T. saved me from ITBS.

After my first marathon, I had to stop running - the last 6 miles were excruciating where the tendon was snapping repeatedly against the bone at my knee. But I didn't know any better - marathons are SUPPOSED to hurt, right? - so I kept running. For the next week I could barely walk - I avoided lifting my leg and bending my knee at all costs. Ice and ibuprofen were a given.

6 weeks later, (and by this point I was so depressed about not running that I was wearing my running clothes as pajamas), I attempted a slow jog. By mile 2, the pain was back. I knew it wasn't going to get better on its own.

6 more weeks went by, during which time I was attending physical therapy 2-3x/week. Eventually, I "needed" a cortisone shot - I nearly passed out in the orthopedist's office. But finally, something had worked.

I could run again. I was determined to be smarter about it this time. I would build up mileage more slowly, run shorter distances more consistently, stretch regularly, and research the underlying causes of ITBS in order to train up the muscles whose weakness had contributed to it. I ran my 2nd marathon without a hitch (except hitting the wall, but that's another story).

6 months later, I attempted my 3rd marathon. It was a small race, run on the shoulder of a 2-lane road. The canted angle made me nervous and I tried to drift toward the center of the road as much as I could. At Mile 11, I knew my wanderings were of no use. The twinge in my knee started to burn. I took off my heart rate strap and tied it around my leg, just above the knee. It did some good, but 2 miles later, I had only 2 choices - finish the race anyway and do untold damage, or quit and, maybe, have to take less time off than last time. I walked slowly to the aide station, trying to convince myself before I got there that quitting was the right thing to do. I only sorta believed it, even after getting a ride back to the finish line and limping, with a bag of ice and tears in my eyes, to watch my friend finish.

But I had been doing everything right! Now what?!

I don't remember how I found A.R.T., but I knew I didn't want another needle-sized hole in my knee. When I found the technique, and a chiropractor just down the road from me who practiced it, I was hopeful but not too excited. I would have been jumping up and down had I known that with his help, I would be running a 10 mile race a mere 2 weeks later.

I had hip adjustments and A.R.T. performed on my quads, hamstrings, and glutes 4 or 5 times in the next 2 weeks. There was definitely tenderness as he worked on me, and some muscle soreness afterward, but overall it was relaxing because I could sense the good it was doing.

I still see my A.R.T. chiropractor once every other week (okay, sometimes I skip a few weeks when I'm training less), and I haven't had a problem since. The DC I have seen for 2 years: http://www.chrysalischiropractic.com/doctor/chiropractor/8L/alexand...

(They are currently re-doing their website)
Dr. David Capp is the one certified in A.R.T., and his wife, Lola, is also a chiropractor there.

[Adam Reyer]

Thank you for this great testimonial on how A.R.T. treatments by by Dr. David Capp, of Alexandria, VA, was finally able to fix your ITBS! Honestly, this is exactly the type of dialogue that I'm hoping the Modern Athlete Network can achieve - both on a much larger scale (thousands of members) but also on a similar scale through Groups created by members within M.A.N. on their favorite sports, activities or subjects. Thanks so much Elaine (and please consider creating a Group at some point)!

Your battle with ITBS looks like a cakewalk, however, compared to how much trouble Mike Dietrich has had trying to fix it. He's seeing a great A.R.T./Graston guy in Sterling (Andy Smith - who probably knows your Dr. Capp) and is one treatment away from confirming Andy's hypothesis that it's not ITBS, after all, but Biceps Femoris Tendonitis. If this isn't confirmed shortly, the next step could be going to a Physiatrist Andy refers people to.

Keep your eyes on this Discussion Forum on ITBS for Mike to tell us the final result - I have a very expensive dinner riding on the outcome (I bet Mike that Andy would fix his ITBS ;-)).