Myoskeletal Alignment Technique

Scar Tissue

When people injure themselves, they create microscopic scar tissue and adhesions. Scar tissue is bad news because it differs from normal tissue in almost every way. It is much more pain sensitive

Collagen is the most abundant tissue in the body and plays a critical role in the healing of wounds or injuries. The Inflammatory Response turns FIBROBLASTS on to do their thing and heal your body by creating a scar.

Fascia

Fascia although extremely tough and flexible when healthy, when injured it begins to create excess cross-links in other words, in order to get stronger, the web gets thicker. Stronger can be good, but in the body, there’s always a trade off. Unfortuantely, as the tissue thickens, it loses it’s ability to stretch and  its elasticity.  Once this happens, even though the fascia is thicker, the loss of elasticity actually makes it weaker…. or at least more prone to injury (re-injury). It can no longer help muscles Transmit loads and Forces as it should, and it cannot accurately transmit nerve-like impulses.

To sum up a derangment of Fascial Structure (aka tensgerity) will sooner or later cause a subsequent loss of Fascial Function that can begin a catastrophic downhill sprial.
This tangle of thickened and inelastic tissue binds both the nerve and vascular tissues due to injury, inflamation, or poor posture, you create adhesions in the fascia causing both pain and hypoxia (diminished Oxygenation) you have just set yourself up to experience Chronic Pain’s Perfect Storm and the medical community that rarley provides you any sort of meaningful information as far as what’s wrong with you, or more importantly how to get your life back. Instead you get drugs and tests.

One of the biggest revelations for many people suffering with CHRONIC PAIN is the absurd numbers of CHRONIC PAIN SYNDROMES bought on by microscopic scarring of the Fascia. It gets even worse when you realise that this fascia is the most pain-sensitive tissue in the body…..yet it does not show up on even the most technologically advanced imaging techniques, including MRI.

How does Chronic Pain Work?

For years neuro-scientists have known that Chronic Pain can cause brain atrophy (shrinkage) that is no different from Alzheimer’s or Dementia. More recently research from the journal of  Neuroscience reported that   ” The longer that the individual has had Fibromyalgia, the greater the grey matter loss, with each year of Fibromyalgia being equivalent to 9.5 times the loss of normal aging”.
The source of chronic pain for many arises from very common imbalances and dysfunctional patterns in the musculoskeletal system. Most chronic pain can be relieved with a combination of skilled manual therapy and intelligent corrective exercise.

What is Myoskeletal Alignment Technique is

The Myoskeletal Alignment Technique (MAT) system brings together the most advanced therapeutic strategies to releive, and ultimately correct patterns in the body that lead to pain and deterioration.
With MAT therapy, clients can be free from pain and often avoid invasive surgery or toxic pain medications.

MAT practitioners take clients through a series of sessions in deep tissue therapy that calms hyperexcited nerve receptors. When the pain- generating stimulus is interrupted, new memories can be programmed into muscle cells by inhibiting the chemical activation of pain, which allows the brain to downgrade its signals for chronic protective spasms.

What Myoskeletal Therapy does and issues that can be helped include:

HEADACHES: Although not all headaches are musculoskeletal, a large percentage are caused by chronic restriction of Fascial Adhesions in and around the neck and upper back ( sometimes can be lower) also helps people who suffer MIGRAINE HEADACHES as well.

SHOULDER PROBLEMS: unless your cuff is completely torn. Again Tissue Remodeling could be the answer to your shoulder pain.

PIRIFORMIS SYNDROME ( PAIN IN THE BUTT): Many people suffer from chronic pain in the upper or mid buttock sometimes described as their “HIP”. This can be both a local pain, as well as pain that runs into the leg  (sciatica). Piriformis Syndrome can be one cause of sciatica.

FORWARD HEAD POSTURE: Corrects atrophy, weakness and muscle amnesia.

WHIPLASH TYPE INJURIES:  Can cause and be caused by scaring or adhesion of the fascia not visable on MRI or CT scans.

CHRONIC TRIGGER POINTS:  Trigger Points are painful balls of muscles that can occur anywhere but more often occur between the shoulders and the base of the neck.

HIP FLEXOR ISSUES: Chronically tight or injured hip flexors are a major issue in many people.

IMPROVES SLEEP: By lowering sympathetic nervous system tone.

IMPROVES POSTURE: Relieves chronic pain contributing to weak posture.

ADDRESSES BREATHING DISORDERS: Caused by drooping ribcage.

RELEASES TRAPPED NERVES: Due to tight muscles, ligaments and joints.

PREVENTS CHRONIC NECK AND BACK PAIN: Due to tension, trauma & weak posture.

It also creates dynamic, confident posture with innovative restorative techniques, and also changes the brains mind about pain through targeted exercise advice,  pain sensitivity is also reduced through graded exposure assisted stretching.

How Myoskeletal Alignment Technique works

MAT practitioners work with clients through a series of sessions in deep tissue therapy that calms hyperexcited nerve receptors. when the pain-generating stimulus is effectively interupted, new memories can be programmed into muscle cells by inhibiting the chemical activation of pain, which allows the brain to downgrade its signals for chronic protective spasms.

Contract-relax techniques can make the nervous system less threatened by the movement.
Active pain-free therapy signals the brain that the previously painful movement is now safe. By doing this repeatedly, the nervous system will often start to disassociate the movement from the pain.

The MAT goal is to bring as much “good news” as possible to the nervous system.