Active Release Techniques (ART) is a system of soft-tissue assessment and treatment designed to identify and correct adhesions that develop between muscles, fascia, tendons, and nerves. In the context of strength training, poor tissue quality is not a minor inconvenience—it’s a limiting factor in force production, movement efficiency, and long-term resilience. Adhesions restrict the sliding of adjacent structures, alter joint mechanics, and interfere with proprioceptive feedback loops that coordinate muscle sequencing. The outcome is predictable: energy leaks, inefficient recruitment patterns, and eventually, pain or injury.
I have worked as a certified Active Release Techniques practitioner since 2012, applying it across a wide range of athletes, coaches, and general population clients. The value of ART lies not just in its ability to treat scarring and fibrosis, but in its precision to do so.
Physiology and Mechanism
Adhesions are the body’s patchwork solution to microtrauma. Repetitive strain, overload, or insufficient recovery triggers the deposition of collagen fibres to stabilize a stressed region. The problem is that the body repairs with expedience, not precision. Collagen is laid down in a disorganised, haphazard fashion, binding tissue planes that should glide independently. Over time, this creates a mechanical anchor within the muscle or fascia that resists movement and increases the internal friction of every contraction.
From a neuromechanical standpoint, this restriction does more than limit range—it alters recruitment. The nervous system compensates by increasing co-contraction and recruiting additional musculature to preserve joint control. This raises metabolic cost and reduces efficiency. The athlete moves, but at a higher energy expenditure and with distorted movement sequencing. That inefficiency accumulates over thousands of repetitions, ultimately altering loading patterns across joints and connective tissue.
ART targets these restrictions directly by combining precise manual contact with guided active movement. The practitioner shortens the tissue, applies specific tension in the direction of the adhesion, and then instructs the client to lengthen the structure through movement. The tension is maintained throughout, creating controlled shear between the stuck layers. This mechanical and neurological stimulus signals the nervous system that freedom of glide has been restored. The change is immediate—range improves, tone normalizes, and movement patterns can be retrained under load.
Misapplications in the Field
Despite its effectiveness, ART is often poorly implemented in both therapy and coaching environments. The most common error is treating pain rather than dysfunction. Pain is a symptom of overload, not necessarily the site of the problem. Addressing where it hurts rather than identifying the structure driving the faulty mechanics does little more than chase sensations. A practitioner must understand functional anatomy deeply enough to trace symptoms back to their mechanical origin. For instance, anterior shoulder pain often stems not from the biceps tendon itself, but from restricted subscapularis or pectoralis minor tissue altering humeral glide.
Another error is passive application. Static massage, foam rolling, or generalised soft-tissue work lacks the dynamic shear required to separate adhered layers. ART depends on movement under tension. Without active motion, the intervention becomes little more than a compressive rubdown. Likewise, applying ART without integrating it into a broader strength framework is a wasted opportunity. Restoring motion without retraining the new range under load allows the nervous system to revert to its prior protective pattern within days. The treatment may feel effective short-term, but the system learns nothing new.
ART must therefore be positioned as a facilitator of adaptation, not a replacement for intelligent training. Its role is to restore the hardware so that the software—the nervous system—can reprogram efficient movement through proper exercise selection and progressive loading.
Correct Application and Integration
Within a structured strength program, ART should be integrated strategically rather than reactively. Its use is best guided by the phase of training, the athlete’s current state of fatigue, and the nature of the movement restrictions observed.
Applied pre-session, ART can restore mechanical readiness for key lifts. A well-targeted treatment on the hip capsule or glute medius before squatting can immediately improve femoral tracking and reduce knee valgus, leading to cleaner movement and better loading of the prime movers. The intention in this context is acute readiness: restoring normal joint mechanics so that the athlete can execute with efficiency.
During the accumulation phases of training, ART serves to manage the residual tightness that accompanies high workloads. For pressing-dominant athletes, adhesions commonly develop in the pectoralis minor and latissimus dorsi, both of which alter scapular rhythm and contribute to shoulder impingement if left unchecked. Periodic ART sessions during these blocks maintain the quality of movement and prevent small compensations from developing into chronic dysfunctions.
As training intensity increases toward peaking phases, ART assists in maintaining soft-tissue elasticity and reducing neural tension. Restoring normal slide between fascia and nerve sheaths ensures that high-threshold motor units can be recruited without the mechanical inhibition caused by tissue stiffness. The outcome is better performance at higher loads, with reduced risk of compensation or strain.
In program design terms, ART reduces residual fatigue by improving tissue function. Within the framework of fitness–fatigue theory, this can be seen as removing one of the barriers to recovery between bouts. When the structural system moves freely, the adaptive processes of supercompensation can occur with less interference. Over time, this translates to sustained progression through more consistent loading exposure.
ART Versus General Manual Therapy
The distinction between ART and general manual therapy lies in specificity and intent. Most massage or soft-tissue techniques apply pressure in a compressive manner, attempting to increase circulation or promote relaxation. ART operates under tension rather than compression. The practitioner applies directional force along the line of the adhesion and moves the tissue actively through range. This creates shear stress between the adhered surfaces, which is what physically restores the glide between them.
Furthermore, ART is diagnostic in nature. The practitioner palpates for texture, tension, and movement quality, identifying which structures are restricted and how those restrictions affect adjacent tissues. The treatment becomes both an assessment and an intervention. This is what makes it uniquely valuable to strength coaches and athletes—it provides immediate feedback on how mechanical dysfunctions relate to training performance.
Massage may make an athlete feel looser; ART changes the way they move.
The Athlete and Public Perspective
For the general trainee or recreational athlete, ART can seem like an advanced or specialised intervention reserved for professionals. That assumption is incorrect. Every trainee who loads the same movement pattern week after week—squatting, pressing, pulling—will develop small areas of fibrosis and reduced glide over time. These restrictions are often subclinical, meaning they do not yet cause pain, but they quietly reduce the quality of motion. Over months and years, the reduction in range and altered joint centration accumulate into lost performance.
In practical terms, this means a shoulder that no longer externally rotates fully under a barbell, or a hip that can’t extend properly during sprinting. Strength output decreases not because the muscle is weak, but because it can no longer express its strength through the full mechanical range. ART removes these bottlenecks by restoring the natural motion between layers of tissue.
For anyone serious about long-term progression, ART functions as system maintenance. The nervous system thrives on precision and repeatability. When joints move freely and tissue tension is balanced, force transmission becomes more efficient, and training can proceed without constant regression into compensations. Since 2012, I’ve applied ART across hundreds of clients—from high-level lifters to everyday professionals—using it to restore motion, improve symmetry, and extend the lifespan of their training careers. It’s not a recovery trend or luxury treatment. It’s applied biomechanics, executed with intent.
Practical Considerations for Coaches
For coaches, understanding where ART fits within a system is more important than knowing how to perform it. The coach’s role is to identify patterns of dysfunction and refer appropriately, then reinforce the improved movement through programming. When an athlete gains new range after treatment, that range must be stabilised immediately through intelligent exercise selection. Loading patterns should reflect the new mechanics—lighter initially, then progressively intensified as control improves.
ART should not be viewed as a replacement for mobility or stability work, but as a complement to both. The practitioner clears the restriction; the coach retrains the pattern. Together, they create a closed feedback loop that maintains function long-term. The most effective use of ART occurs when it is integrated regularly within a system of periodised training and recovery, rather than used reactively once an injury has occurred.
Closing Perspective
Active Release Techniques bridge the gap between rehabilitation and performance. They restore the hardware of the musculoskeletal system so that the nervous system can communicate and recruit efficiently. When tissue quality improves, exercise execution improves, and training variables such as load, tempo, and volume can be applied with precision.
Incorrect application—especially when practitioners treat pain without identifying the source of dysfunction, or coaches fail to reinforce the restored range—leads to wasted effort and frustration. When used correctly, ART becomes a vital component of performance management, not as a fix for broken athletes, but as part of an ongoing strategy for maintaining efficiency across the lifespan of training.
As both a strength coach and an ART practitioner, I view the technique as one more layer in a complete system. Release the restriction, retrain the movement, reinforce it with load. The process is simple, but the discipline lies in consistency. Tissue health underpins every other quality we try to develop—strength, power, speed, and resilience. The better we maintain it, the longer we can keep progressing.
