ART as a part of your season

Paul Stone

 Has anyone implemented ART into training monthly or more? Did you just go in for an overhaul or work on specific areas each session? How did it compare to a season without ART?  

jhbinsc

I'm a big believer in ART both as cure and prophylaxis for injuries esp at my age (45) and for long course. Found my town was lucky enough to have a practitioner locally and have gone weekly or every other week while in heavy training and really felt it was helpful. That being said, a highly skilled DEEP tissue massage or ROLFing will help too.

I got ART pretty much everywhere for prophylaxis and concentrated on a few areas that were problems. Spent a good 45 minutes per session.

Definitely fewer issues with ART but I also implemented other recovery techniques like ice, stretch, massage, etc and was getting more seasoned too. SUre can't hurt...

[Deleted User]

I too am a HUGE believer in ART and get a weekly session in during my season which is usually January through September. I'm very lucky in that I have a good insurance plan and my ART is also a physical therapist. I have needed ART to get through all the injuries and nagging issues that pop up. However, I just did a gait analysis with Pursuit Athletic Performance and am working on rebuilding my running so maybe the ART will not be needed as frequently. But I still plan to get in sessions as needed.

jhbinsc

@J You are fortunate to have good insurance. My plan changed last year to a high deductible plan and I now pay full price for ART rather than 20% copay. So I now alternate a massage one week and ART the next, still a big help and worth the money but trying to be sensible with my funds. My point is it is worth having particularly if you have issues that crop up and prevent you from achieving your best. At the minimum, getting ART to address an injury until it has resolved is appropriate.