Muscle Activation Techniques

What is MAT and how can it help me?

The goal of MAT is to progressively improve the ability for muscles to handle the physical stresses involved with exercise, sport, adventure and life by restoring muscular health where it has been lost. Our concept of muscular, or neuromuscular, health is for the muscles to have high quality, efficient contractions.

MAT is a specific and unique non-medical process that evaluates an individual’s ability to develop efficient muscle contractions by first comparing left and right-side range of motion, as the human body is designed to be symmetrical. If a movement is determined to be asymmetrical then we know that one or more of the muscles moves that limb is potentially weak. Next, when it has been determined through precise hands-on testing that a muscle has lost its ability to contract properly the MAT practitioner applies specific forces to restore that muscles contraction quality. Lastly, motion is reassessed to see if symmetry has been restored via efficient muscle system function. With MAT we use up to 50 precise movement evaluations, 276 muscle tests to identify our clients weak links along with isometrics and manual palpations of muscular attachments to stimulate the weak muscles.

We recognize that as we age, the accumulation of stress, trauma and overuse on the body takes a toll on the neuromuscular system. Every stress or injury has a potential negative impact on your neuromuscular function. Overtime, the accumulation of these stresses alters the communication between your nervous system and your muscular system. If this altered communication issue is not identified and addressed on a regular basis, then the accumulative effect is a progressive weakness of the muscular system. The body then becomes increasingly susceptible to pain, injury and /or degenerative issues. The end result is a decreased ability to handle the physical stresses of that come with everyday activity, exercise and physical performance.

MAT is for people who are struggling to enjoy the activities they love, worried about taking care of their body as they age and seeking to invest in solutions to keep them moving well year after year.