Muscle Activation Techniques

Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT)™ is a bodywork technique that identifies and treats musculoskeletal imbalances through a systematic series of range of motion assessments, manual muscles tests, palpation treatments, and isometric strengthening exercises.  This biomechanics-based therapy is designed to prevent and treat pain associated with these imbalances by screening for strength deficits and muscle inhibition (the inability to recruit all motor units of a functional muscle group to their full extent).

Most current forms of therapy and exercise recognize muscle tightness as the primary factor leading to pain or injury.  The MAT process looks at muscle weakness, rather than muscle tightness, as the cause of limitations in range of motion.  When the body recognizes instability (muscle weakness), it is designed to protect itself.  It sends messages to surrounding muscles to tighten up in an attempt to support and protect the joint.  With a systematic evaluation procedure that correlates limitations in range of motion to muscle weakness, MAT treats weak muscles in order to address instability.  In turn, protective contractions diminish, typically resulting in an increased joint range of motion.  Along with this increased joint range of motion, there is also an increase in stability through the range of motion (mobility with stability).  This increase in joint mobility combined with joint stability is fundamental to the MAT program.  It is the foundation behind improving people’s ability to function.