AM - JAJAF run this morning, Fritz decided to join us today! Weather was nice, great company , and my feet felt significantly better today. Then met up with my boss for some yoga. He scheduled every morning for us to do yoga because he thinks it will help my back. What a great boss!! Definitely a good start to the day. PM - 20 minutes of strength training then headed to the track to watch Adam and Jake do their workout (and just be outside while it's warm!). Did a lot of foot massaging and then ran 0.75 miles with Adam on his cooldown. I went to see Dr. Fletcher again yesterday, and he worked on both my back and my feet. I didn't have that extreme back pain after treatment like I have the past two sessions. In addition to the ART, he also did some muscle stimulation and cold laser (? will have to research that more today). This was the first time he worked on my feet and afterwards I was able to completely flex my toes with no pain! I have to say it was not a fun experience having him dig his fingers in between my metarsals though.
Here's a little more about Active Release Technique (I honestly had never heard about it until recently, but it is very common for prevention and overuse injuries by lots of elite athletes) - ART is most commonly used to treat conditions related to adhesions or scar tissue in overused muscles. According to ART practitioners, as adhesions build up, muscles become shorter and weaker, the motion of muscles and joints are altered, and nerves can be compressed. As a result, tissues suffer from decreased blood supply, pain, and poor mobility. The goal of ART is to restore the smooth movement of tissues and to release any trapped nerves or blood vessels. In an ART treatment, the provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and mobility of the soft tissue. Using hand pressure, the practitioner works to remove or break up the fibrous adhesions, with the stretching motions generally in the direction of venous and lymphatic flow.
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