Learn About MAT and MATRx

MAT Headquarters provides plenty of information regarding the practice of MAT and MATRx. Here is my spin on that information.

Both MAT and MATRx are designed to change your experiences in motion. They both create stability, mobility, and strength. They both flip your can’t do to what you can do. Depending on your goals and focus, both have a time and a place, and we can determine which path is best for you.

Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) is the bodywork that improves your neuromuscular efficiency. MAT recreates how your body moves by improving how the brain and the muscles communicate to create motion.

To start our session, we want to see how you move and control motion without compensations, identify where and how your motion breaks down, and look for your most limited range of motion.

This is where MAT differs from all other’s points of view and focus of treatments.

Your brain only allows motion to happen that it can control. MAT views tightness as secondary to weakness and a way for your body to create stability. This is huge. Muscles that communicate with the brain stay in the loop and move bones; when muscles do not communicate, this forces the next best option—other muscles stepping in and compensating, creating the need for tightness. We identify and treat neurologically weak muscles, not tight ones.

As your MAT practitioner, I will be the project manager for the muscular system. I will align your muscles to their roles, ensure they show up for the job they were designed to do effectively and ensure they can tolerate forces.

Each client’s specific issues at any joint can be addressed and corrected based on what the client presents. For instance, my knee pain may come from my foot being unable to supinate, and yours may be attributed to how your hip is incapable of externally rotating or extending. The original breakdown of motion occurs in different places in the body but creates similar issues with pain and discomfort and would be addressed with other treatments.

MATRx uses the same techniques; however, optimal motion is set up through a set sequence of patterns engaging both sides and is reinforced with stress specifically applied to create a higher tolerance for your body. It builds a solid foundation for your body to tolerate all you choose to do with more power and fewer breakdowns. It aligns with how we develop neurologically, from crawling to walking, starting from your core and trunk muscles. Much like a math student must master addition and subtraction before moving on to algebra, the MATRx client masters their motions in the proper sequence to fully gain stability and control forces that occur with motion. It is incredible, and I am pleased to use it with my clients.

My goal as your MAT practitioner is to empower you to move and feel your best and to prepare your body for the life you live.

If you have questions or want to discuss what you are dealing with, I am here to help.