1. What does a treatment look like?
2. How does training with a biomechanics consultant at Core Strength differ from receiving personal training?
3. Who can benefit from MAT^TM?
4. How does MAT^TM work?
5. How long does it take to get results?
6. What is muscle inhibition?
7. Can I get MAT^TM covered by my insurance?
8. What are your qualifications?
9. Can I receive other therapies if I am receiving MAT^TM?

What does a treatment look like?

• The treatment begins with a comprehensive range of motion (ROM) assessment to search for potential neuromuscular deficits that underlie compromised performance, joint instability, and dysfunction.  These deficits are exhibited as asymmetries in the extreme of ranges of motion of a joint in a given plane.  The specific neuromuscular deficits are identified through joint specific positional muscle testing.  If muscle inhibition is identified, a manual therapy that involves precision palpation is used to restore proper neuromuscular communication to the inhibited muscle.  Isometric exercises may be prescribed to reinforce the positional weaknesses.  Following the MAT treatment process, our specialists are able to transition you into an exercise regimen to further reinforce your biomechanical limitations, or weak links.

How does training with a biomechanics consultant at Core Strength differ from receiving personal training?

• At Core Strength, we offer the highest standard in exercise prescription.  Force (exercise) is arguably the number one prescribed remedy in North America.  There is a great responsibility and liability associated with the prescription of force.  All the staff are trained in RTS and have an unparalleled understanding in human anatomy and the physics involved in exercise.  At Core Strength, exercises will be designed that are tailored to your individual anatomy, current ability, and tolerance for force.  The result of this detail in attention is an unparalleled exercise experience that is truly safe and customized.  

“There is too much to do and too much to cue to waste time counting reps!”
-Tom Purvis, RTS

Who can benefit from MAT^TM?

• Ultimately, we exist in a Newtonian world as such our bodies are mechanical and virtually every activity we participate in involves the demands of force.  From infants to the elderly, from the professional athlete to the post-surgical patient, your ability to function depends on the integrity of your muscular system.  MAT^TM can better prepare your body to handle physical stress.

How does MAT^TM work?

• The goal of MAT^TM is to increase the active stability of a joint or series of joints by restoring proprioceptive balance due to the increase of muscle spindle sensitivity in muscles exhibiting aberrant inhibition.  An increase in sensitivity of a muscle spindle causes a concomitant increase in the alpha motor drive of the homologous and synergistic muscles while restoring appropriate motor drive to the antagonistic musculature via primary (Ia) inhibitory interneuron activity.  Therefore, increasing the continuous level of activation of a previously inhibited muscle will restore the sense of stability around a joint while allowing the activity of the protective muscles to dampen to the appropriate level.

How long does it take to get results?

• That really does depend on your personal history and confounding factors.   Typically you will begin to see changes immediately but we should have a good idea if our service is working for you within several visits depending on the nature of your situation.  Your current state is an amalgam of every single stress (physical, mental, biochemical) that your body has endured.  The body is extremely complicated and is an excellent compensator, thus you may have problems dating back to your youth!

What is muscle inhibition?

• Muscle inhibition is typically caused by stress, overuse or trauma.  Inhibition of a muscle is due to decreased muscle spindle sensitivity which leads to an inability of the agonistic muscle tissue to shorten appropriately.  In turn, the muscle spindle unloads due to slackening of the intrafusal fibers typically exhibited in an extreme of range of motion in a given plane.  This unloading diminishes the ability of the antagonistic musculature to lengthen appropriately.  Such an imbalance can lead to skewed co-contractility around a joint creating protective hypertonicity and diminishing the reliance on active control mechanisms (muscular system) thus increasing the reliance on passive control mechanisms and structures (ligamentous, capsular, cartilaginous, et. al.).

• When a muscle is inhibited due to decreased spindle sensitivity, sensory input to the central nervous system is skewed from a lack of input via the primary (Ia) afferent axon.  This will affect the relative reciprocal communication between any motor neuron with direct synapse to this afferent axon in the spinal system.  If the smallest alpha motor neuron of the homologous muscle does not receive the appropriate sensory input necessary for continuous activation, a shift from in metabolic processes may occur in the inhibited muscle. Relative to its mechanical role, a given muscle that plays a dominant role in stability may lose much of its oxidative, endurance-like properties and become more glycolytic, fast-fatiguable in nature.  This will compromise the active stabilizing role muscles play around a joint increasing the risk for injury and impeding any recovery process that may be in effect.

Can I get MAT^TM covered by my insurance?

• Currently, MAT^TM is not insurable by most providers.  MAT^TM is still a new form of therapy – with less than 40 practitioners in Canada and 500 worldwide.

What are your qualifications?

• All of the Core Strength specialists have university degrees and industry certifications along with continuing education in MAT^TM and Resistance Training Specialist (RTS).  Please refer to our individual biographies for more details on this information.
• MAT^TM training involves a 10-month internship that focuses on the restoration and correction of muscular imbalances as they relate to biomechanics.  A Certified MAT Specialist is not trained to practice medicine, physical therapy or chiropractics. 

Can I receive other therapies if I am receiving MAT^TM?

• Yes.  MAT^TM is does not have to be a stand alone modality.  MAT^TM addresses the underlying weak muscles that may be impeding your body’s ability to heal.  By creating a more optimal environment for healing, MAT^TM can improve the efficacy of any other form of therapy.  Individuals recovering from surgery, acute trauma and significant functional limitations should have consulted with their physicians prior to receiving MAT^TM and are strongly encouraged to involve physiotherapy as part of their rehabilitation.