I am trying Active Release Therapy (ART)

I got a recommendation of a new chiropractor from my acupuncturist. She said he mostly does ART ( Active Release Therapy). Here is what I found on the internet about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orQlLeTqX18

I have gone to get treated once so far, still checking if my insurance will cover it.
The way the doctor explained it at his office is that your muscles can get stiff like "having paint dry in the bristles of a brush" he works that "dried paint" out of the muscles so that they can stretch and contract normally. I still get stiffness in my neck, shoulders, and between my shoulder blades. That is what he worked on.

He explained that he likes to release the muscles before he would make any chiropractic adjustments, because the adjustments wouldn't "hold" because the muscles are so tight and pull the body back out of alignment.

It is like a deep tissue massage on only the area you are having pain or stiffness in. He said he would go lighter on me because I have Lupus. Well the first day I felt "stretched out" and good.
The second day... "ouch" it felt as if I had worked those muscles with tremendous exercise.
This is the third day and the pain is just about gone, and it still feels stretched out.

I go back again tomorrow for another treatment.

After a regular massage they tell you to drink lots of water to flush out any toxins, so I did this too. And I continued to stretch my arms the way he had done over the past 3 days, to keep the muscles stretched out.

The receptionist said to check if my plan also covers regular "medical massage" for Lupus. Hey it is worth a shot, we can ALL benefit from a massage, Lupus or not!