Muscle Activation Techniques® (MAT®) is a revolutionary approach that assesses and corrects a person’s muscular system. It is as simple as that to explain, yet it is an amazingly effective and nuanced tool. You may often see and hear about MAT in the news because of high profile athletes crediting some degree of their performance or recovery to MAT but MAT is not limited to professional athletes. Muscle Activation Techniques can help everyone!
MAT is now a global education company that teaches professionals in the health and wellness industry an enhanced process. This process can help clients who have limitations in their muscular system — showing up as reductions in range of motion — improve ease of movement.
Here are eight things that you should know about MAT:
1.) MAT can help explore what could be causing pain. Within the MAT philosophy, pain is an indicator that something is wrong. It's like the check engine light in your car — it tells you there is a problem, but not necessarily where the problem is. Muscle Activation Techniques has a series of checks and balances to see where there are muscle weaknesses (or inhibition). Oftentimes, these muscular weaknesses and the resulting imbalances can contribute to the cause of pain. By addressing the imbalances in the muscular system, MAT can work towards resolving the issue. To be clear: MAT does NOT TREAT PAIN... rather it explores the muscular system's role in the symptom of pain.
2.) MAT ensures that muscles can contract efficiently. Muscles contract when input from the Central Nervous Systems (CNS) reaches the specific muscle or muscles telling the muscle(s) to contract. Just like the current from your car's battery if there is a "bad connection" or the absence of a connection, the motor won't respond. Similarly, muscles that aren't receiving proper input from the CNS become inhibited or weak. This weak muscle loses its ability to stabilize joints and properly protect the body from injury.
3.) MAT can help to increase range of motion. Have you ever walked on ice and felt your body immediately tense up? This is an innate response to protect you and try to prevent you from slipping and falling. Just like when you’re on ice, your body can sense instability from weaknesses in the muscular system. The brain then tells other muscles to tighten and limit motion in an effort to protect you. By addressing these muscle weaknesses and the resulting muscular imbalances, MAT can reduce the body’s response of tightening and becoming restrictive/tense. Essentially MAT is melting the ice for you to move more freely. Many health and wellness professionals focus primarily on improving the range of motion of a client, whereas MAT is uniquely different in that it focuses on the muscle weaknesses. When weak muscles are activated properly this can then result not only increased strength but also in an increased range of motion for the client.
4.) MAT can help improve athletic performance. By assessing the cause of pain, improving muscle strength (which increases range of motion), and testing and then correcting an individual's muscular capabilities, it allows athletes to enhance their performance when training and competing. Whether you’re a pro athlete, weekend warrior, or somewhere in between, MAT can help you achieve the progress you are looking for.
5.) MAT can help people address issues that can contribute to chronic illness. There are a multitude of systems in the body. When the muscular system is working optimally, it is one less stress that the body has to deal with. This frees up the body to address and respond to other contributors to chronic illnesses. Clients of Muscle Activation Techniques have claimed that it helped them with their symptoms relating to diseases such as: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and others. MAT does not claim that it can cure diseases. However, through improving muscle function, the body functions better as a whole. Just like with properly prescribed exercise, stress and inflammation levels can decline which allows the body to apply its healing efforts towards the other systemic challenges it is facing.
6.) MAT can assist with addressing some of the challenges of aging. As people age, there is a natural breakdown of the body that can result in a variety of challenges. The most significant challenges include muscle weakness and a decrease in range of motion. This can affect one's ability to move freely and unencumbered. MAT can help to improve one's strength and range of motion by improving the neuromuscular connection to help create more stability as well as mobility while also addressing other symptoms that seem to accompany each passing year.
7.) MAT can help prepare you to achieve your goals! We understand how injury, illness, and aging can impact your body’s muscular system capabilities. MAT can help to build a strong and stable foundation so you can get back to what moves you!
8.) MAT can help you enhance your career. Click here to hear from MAT Practitioners and their clients!