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8:00am – 8:00pm (Mon-Sun) By Appointment Only

476 Woodlawn Rd E, Guelph

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Muscle Activation Technique (MAT)

Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) is a therapeutic practice that looks at the integrated system of the human body by breaking it down into its isolated parts. MAT Practitioners have a deep understanding on how isolated muscle function can contribute to the function of the body’s total integrated system. MAT can address isolated weaknesses to restore and improve total body muscular performance. By improving neuromuscular function, MAT can help reduce pain, improve joint stability, help address acute or chronic injuries, improve sport performance and quality of life.
 
Book in with Jackie for MAT within an Athletic Therapy appointment!

What is MAT

MAT was founded on the principle that human movement and exercise are fundamental to human health and a muscle’s ability to contract efficiently is important for normal movement. Any loss of muscle contractile efficiency may be demonstrated as a loss of motion and decreased physical performance, which may lead to pain and/or the loss of physical capabilities.
MAT looks at this as potentially being a communication issue rather than a strength issue.  Stress, trauma, overuse, and inflammation can alter the communication between the nervous system and the muscular system. This altered communication is what creates neurological weaknesses.
 
The goal of MAT is to “activate” the inhibited muscles through systematic process that utilizes a checks and balances, muscle specific isometric contractions and/or manual stimulation. Once the inhibited muscles are activated, they can contract more efficiently, enabling the muscles to withstand greater amounts of external force which allows the muscles to protect the body from pain or injury.

What to Expect

First the MAT practitioner will start with an assessment. MAT assessment is used to identify positions where a muscle cannot contract on demand and/or sustain a contraction for a specific amount of time. These MAT muscle tests used in the assessment are unique in that they are designed to determine whether muscles can contract on demand and sustain the contraction.
 
The next step is to activate identified weaknesses in the muscles through either specific isometric muscle contractions or manual palpation. When it has been determined through testing that a muscle has lost its ability to contract, then precise forces are applied to restore that muscle’s efficiency,
re-activating that muscle.
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Once this activation technique has been performed, then the MAT practitioner will retest the associated muscle to determine if the activation technique worked. As muscles are restored to efficient contraction, MAT uses this system of accountability (checks and balances) to ensure that any increases in motion and symmetry are accompanied by improvements in a
muscle’s contractile ability.