Sorry - There Is No Magic Bullet

In today's age, we tend to expect immediate and powerful results with whatever is new and trendy.  In the musculoskeletal (MSK) world, there's always something new and inventive that gives the impression that if you pay for it, you're going to get fixed.  I'm going to tell you a trade secret: Sorry - there is no magic bullet.

Active Release Technique, dry needling, chiropractic adjustments, cold laser therapy, decompression, cryotherapy, graston, kinesiotape, etc, etc, etc - they're all one tool in the clinician's toolbelt.  What works for person A may not work for person B, and what works for person B might hurt person C.  Regardless, those tools are useful in managing most MSK conditions.  They are designed to help you recover and get you through a training session or a big event, but they will never 'fix' you.

I often tell my patients there are two ways to hurt yourself: fast or slow.  You fall off your bike, slip on a box jump, take a bad tackle - or tissue damage develops over time through repetitively poor movements.  One way or another, you're likely suffering from the latter.  And it's not just your technique when squatting, or what your running gait looks like after 4 miles.  But how you stand, how you walk, how you sleep, how you sit - it all adds up and multiplies on itself.

You can foam roll those tight and tender muscles all you want, but you probably won't get anywhere if your basic (and advanced) movements continue to re-load those overused soft tissues.  You have to begin to change your mindset, change the way you carry yourself, and start stressing the right tissues at the right times in order to create a more functional homeostasis.  

So yes, go get some manual therapy or some adjustments or some needling.  Those modalities are often necessary.  But if your clinician isn't re-programming your most basic movements, you'll just be stuck on a care plan that benefits the physician more than it does the patient.