What is MAT?
MAT was founded in 1998, in Denver, CO by Greg Roskopf while he was working as a muscular specialist for the Denver Broncos. He discovered that instead of attempting to make muscles relax through kneading, stretching, heating, or foam rolling, muscles can be “reactivated” by using special muscle testing and then palpating the attachment sites of each individual muscle. By doing so, muscles are “reactivated” to their full potential, thus releasing tightness, and bringing balance to your neuromuscular system.
Clients report that their symptoms of pain, tightness, or muscular weakness resolve more and more with each MAT treatment they receive. This treatment is very complimentary to chiropractic and acupuncture, however, receiving acupuncture or chiropractic is not required for MAT treatment to work. Many physical therapists have even referred to MAT as “the missing link in full body healing”. It can bring the pain relief you’ve been seeking as well as improve your ability to function in your day-to-day life!
“MAT was founded on the principle that human movement and exercise are fundamental to human health and that a muscle’s ability to contract efficiently is important for normal movement. Any loss of muscle contraction 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® is a specific and unique process for evaluating an individual’s ability to develop efficient muscle contraction(s) 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 (i.e. one limb has a greater range of motion than the opposite limb) as determined by the Comparative Assessment of Mobility or CAM, then we know that one or more muscles that move the less mobile limb is potentially weak. The muscles that are responsible for moving the limb further are then assessed by the MAT® Specialist to determine if they have lost the ability to contract efficiently.
When it has been determined through testing that a muscle has lost its ability to contract, then precise palpation is applied to restore that muscle’s efficiency, re-activating that muscle. As muscles are restored to efficient contraction, MAT® uses a 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.” -MuscleActivation.com
You can find out more about MAT’s history and the leaders who developed this regiment at https://muscleactivation.com/about/
Celaine Decker, owner of Silvan Wellness, testing Rectus Femoris for contraction efficiency.
Silvan Wellness LLC 