Just the other week we had a client tell us, “I knew my muscles would be working better with MAT®, but I didn’t know this would be so helpful for my joints, too!”
At Muscle Activation Schaumburg, this is something we hear often. Even though we are often told by doctors, therapists, and the media that joint symptoms are strictly joint problems, how your muscles are functioning has a direct influence over how your joints feel and function.
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There are many ways that your muscles can influence your joints, including how they move and how supported they are. This means that, for us as MAT® Practitioners, if a client is having a joint issue like achiness, pain, or lack of mobility, getting the muscles working better can be a huge help for them.
If your joints are feeling a little bit achy or stiff, here are three ways that Muscle Activation Techniques® (MAT®) will be able to help.
1. Improved Joint Mobility
Your muscles are the tissues in your body that move your joints. The better your muscles function, the better your joints will be able to move. And, while this is a great thing for many activities like yoga, doing yard work, and playing at the park with your kids, there are huge implications for the overall health of your joints, too.
Your joints need two things to stay healthy:
These two components allow your joints to stay lubricated and for the cartilage within them to continue to function well and create a cushion between your bones.
Within your body, your muscles are the tissues that not only move your joints, but also put force through your joints.
This means that the better your muscles are working, the healthier your joints will be. MAT® is specifically designed to help your muscles function better, so by having MAT® work done on your body, not only will your muscles get stronger, but your joints will move better, too.
Related: 3 Ways MAT® Helps Boost Your Performance
2. Improved Joint Stability
While having your joints move freely is great, having them move too much or too freely can be an issue. Ligaments, tendons, fascia, cartilage, and joint capsules can all get injured if your joints move too much.
Fortunately, not only do your muscles move your joints, they also stabilize your joints. This means that the better your muscles are functioning, the better your joints will move, and the more protected your joints will be from injury.
This is a big point because a lot of times improving joint motion is done in sacrifice of the stability of the joint, meaning joints move better but become less stable. This is a big problem because if your joints are mobile but not stable, the likelihood that you suffer a severe injury is very high.
So, while improving joint motion is great, making sure the joints are stable through all of the motion they have is even better. At the end of the day, having your muscles function well will take care of both these things, which means you will be moving well, you will be resilient to injury, and you will be strong–a huge win all around!
With the focus of MAT® being on increasing muscle function, joint stability naturally improves. Not only does this help reduce the stress on joints, it also helps to reduce the likelihood of injury during sports, recreational games, or just regular activities of daily living.
Related: How muscles helped save me from blowing out my knee
3. Improved Posture
If mobility is your joints moving and stability is your joints not moving, then posture could be considered how your joints are positioned at any given moment, whether you are at rest or being active.
The great news is, just like with mobility and stability, your posture is controlled by your muscles.
You have likely been told not to slouch at some point. You may have even been given exercises to do to improve your posture, strengthening the muscles along your upper back and spine. But, did you know that the better your muscles function, the better your posture will become without even having to think about it?
It’s true! In fact, we have had many clients with diagnosed cases of scoliosis see significant improvements in their posture, both to the naked eye and on imaging. In fact, not long ago we had a client get an MRI of his spine and report back that his scoliosis is 100% gone–crazy!!
One of the most interesting sensations clients report after MAT® sessions is feeling taller. After their muscles get functioning better, they are able to hold themselves upright with greater ease, and they love it! In fact, we’ve had clients text us telling us they are measuring taller during official check-ups after MAT®. It’s nuts!
With Muscle Activation Techniques®, the focus is on improving the function of your muscles. When your muscles aren’t functioning well, your joints will not feel well. By improving the function of your muscles, the achiness and stiffness in your joints can start to go away, and any sharp or dull joint pain can be greatly reduced.
If you’d like to learn more about MAT®, be sure to download a free copy of our 20-page report on MAT® by clicking here.
And, if you would like to have an MAT® evaluation done on your body, you can schedule an assessment with us here. We are two of the most highly-skilled and well-trained practitioners in the Chicago area, so whether you are downtown or out in the suburbs, we are available to help your body feel and function better.
Julie & Charlie