Using MAT, MATRx, and massage, we address and correct issues associated with a limited range of motion throughout the body. We treat your body’s specific needs in any of the following areas: neck, back, hips, shoulders, wrist and hands, knees, feet, and toes.
Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) and MATRx
The “how” of MAT work is like the ABCs of language. The letters create the word to make the meaning, just as the muscles generate the motion. Without som of th lttrs, you may still gt th gist of what is bing writtn, but the rad is awkward and ambiguous. You can still move without all your muscles showing up, but the motion will be unstable and uncomfortable
The brain orchestrates motion by making muscles contract to move, hold to stabilize, or relax to allow other motions to occur. This orchestration is a neuromuscular function created by the quality and flow of information between the brain and the muscles. When communication breaks down due to stress or overuse, information can get messy and create the need for changes in motion.
MAT provides a system that allows the brain to coordinate the muscle's timing better, increasing their ability to consistently tolerate what we do in life.
Think of how an ankle injury changes the way you walk. When your brain senses instability, it redirects forces, limiting motion and force through the damaged tissues. It does this by creating tightness in other muscles and literally pulling you in another direction. These compensations are designed to recreate stability and protection. They cause the chronic tightness that pulls your bones out of alignment, making moving as you used to feel off, challenging, and tiring.
What muscles in your own body could be missing their cue, affecting your comfort and making your motion feel less than perfect?
MAT and MATRx create a better flow of information. By first observing your range of motion, we can identify and correct muscle imbalances, restore muscle function and neuromuscular communication, and improve the root of your motion.
Relaxing and Connective Massage
Are you stressed out and holding some of that in your muscles? Many of us are. A relaxing and connective massage melts the tension built up in your body from all the “To-Do’s”, and you can let go and let the healing begin while aligning you with being in the moment.
There are so many ways we mentally carry what is occurring in our lives, and it leaves a residue in our body whereby our muscles are also holding onto the tension of life. In this space, tension melts naturally; you hit the reset button and acquire the pause to slow down, heal, and pivot from stress.
Issues We Treat
• Rotator cuff injuries and Frozen Shoulder
• Osgood-Schlatter’s Disease or Sever’s Disease
• Tennis and Golf Elbow
• IT Band Syndrome
• Patella Tracking
• Degenerative Disc Disease
• Spine Instability
• Excessive or limited pronation or supination
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Tendonitis
• Piriformis Syndrome
• Wrist and hand: compressions, grip and pain
About Your Practitioner
Rachael Durnell is a MATRx practitioner in St. Louis, Missouri. She has specialized in Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) since May 2007.
In 2003, she earned a B.S. in Nutrition and Fitness and a minor in Psychology from the University of MO-Columbia. She was introduced to the MAT process as a personal trainer in Chicago in 2003 and began he studies in 2006. In 2010, she obtained NCTMB certification for bodywork and massage therapy. In addition to MAT and massage, she has received the following: ACSM, AFAA, ACE, and NASM certifications.