ART is both a diagnostic tool and a treatment method.  I use my sense of touch and knowledge of anatomy to pinpoint the structures causing the problem. I will then coach you through specific movements while I use my hands to apply the right amount of compression and tension in the right location to help the problem structures move more functionally.

The human condition does not come with an owner's manual - Occupational Therapy training is the closest thing I have discovered : )  I will use my professional training and clinical experience to give you personalized, practical recommendations about how to do those things that just aren't optional (e.g. picking up your baby, washing your back, getting in and out of your car, etc.), even when you're trying to allow a problem to heal. This can include help retraining emotional responses to the problem in complex cases.

Kinesiology tape helps movement problems in two ways. Speeds up healing by making your soft tissue repair system more efficient.  This system needs to move things like oxygen, water and new cells into an injured area and things like broken cells and waste products out.  The tape provides lift on your skin and fascia increasing the space your system has to move these things through - it's like opening an extra lane on the highway to let more cars through. Prevents poor movement patterns from forming by decreasing pain signals that aren't due to tissue damage.  In the same way you instinctively apply pressure to the thumb you hit with a hammer, tape provides subtle pressure to the painful area specifically when you stretch it, decreasing unnecessary tissue tightening that can delay improvement.

Your brain adapts to pain by making small changes in the way it activates your muscles to perform a movement.  These adaptations may help injured tissues rest at first but they can cause problems if you keep using them longer than necessary.  Part of your initial evaluation includes checking for these outdated movement patterns, including in your respiratory muscles.  If you have some and they are contributing to your problem, part of your treatment will include functional movement retraining.  I try to use movements that you use in real-life activities whenever possible.