What makes MAT unique?
The goal of MAT is to identify and correct muscular imbalances in order to decrease pain and improve muscle function. Conventional forms of therapy focus on muscle tightness as the primary factor relating to chronic pain or injury. The MAT philosophy is unique because it recognizes that muscle tightness is not the cause of injury; rather, it is just a symptom. The foundation to MAT is that muscle tightness is a protective response to muscle weakness. When the body senses weakness or inhibition in a muscle, then the associated joint becomes unstable. This causes other muscles to tighten up in order to protect the joint from this instability. The conventional thought process is to stretch the tight muscles. This is great in theory. However, if the coinciding weakness has not been addressed, then the muscles will tighten back up. Instead of treating the tightness (symptom), MAT addresses the cause (weakness/inhibition). By correcting the muscle weakness, the body gains a sense of stabilit
