What about strength training and stretching, or even yoga. Can’t these correct inhibited muscles?

The answer is that it depends. If you have muscles that have been inhibited due to prolonged stress or sudden trauma, then moving into a position of vulnerability (meaning a position that contracts the inhibited muscle) will usually result in other muscles taking over the job of the inhibited muscles. This leads to the weak staying weak and the strong getting stronger. People tend to mask their weakness by developing strength in compensatory muscles. Over time, this can be dangerous as these compensatory muscles are being asked to do jobs that they are not ideally designed for. If the stress that created the weakness in the prime movers to begin with continued (habitual posture or repetitive motion – i.e. - ergonomically unsound work station, golf swing, etc.), then it is likely that the synergistic muscles will become inhibited over time. This can lead to joint deterioration and chronic problems like tendonitis and arthritis. The best course of action is to properly assess which specific muscles are inhibited and then to take a corrective course of action. MAT® is a checks and balances system that will allow you to determine which postures, exercises, and activities involve positions of vulnerability. It will then give you the tools to correct muscle inhibition so that you can move back into these postures, exercises and activities more safely—from a position of strength.

What if I am an athlete, will MAT® help improve my performance and keep me healthy?

MAT® is a technique that not only helps athletes to recover from injuries quickly, but also helps them prevent injuries from happening in the first place. MAT® prepares the body to be more efficient in training and athletic performance. In order to reach optimal performance capabilities, an athlete is forced to train at a high level of intensity. Because of this, there is always the potential for injury. Some athletes may be predisposed to an injury, due to them having muscular imbalances that place increased stress on their joints and tissues. These athletes can be an injury waiting to happen. When they train at a high level, the imbalances are magnified, and the body can no longer handle the stress. It eventually breaks down. It is like driving a car with bad alignment. The faster you drive it, the faster the tires are going to wear out. The body functions the same way. If an athlete has muscular imbalances, the abnormal alignment results in increased stress on the joints and muscles. When an athlete trains at a high level of intensity, the stresses are magnified and injuries occur. The goal of MAT® is to correct the problem before an injury occurs. And injury is just a ‘symptom’ of a deeper issue. The symptom is not the problem. It is a result of the overstressing of an area of the body, due to muscular imbalances. Conventional therapy will typically treat the symptom. This means that the cause of the injury is not being addressed. The end result is that the athlete does not heal, or they go on to experience a more severe injury.

MAT® not only helps to prevent injuries, but it can also speed up the rehabilitation process. By balancing the muscular system, MAT® provides an improved environment for healing. This allows the athlete to return to participation faster. The end result is improved athletic capabilities. “The benefit of MAT® is that the changes can be immediate” says Greg Roskopf, the founder and developer of MAT®. “A professional baseball pitcher increased his throwing velocity by 10 mph, immediately following an MAT® session. This was due to improved mechanics combined with pain free motion. We see these types of changes every day.”