According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, close to 30 percent of the population ages 18 and older experienced low back pain in the past three months. For professionals on the front line of pain management, it is clear that possessing effective techniques for the alleviation of low back, hip and leg pain is a crucial aspect of helping a large number of clients in pain. Fortunately, there are quality training classes on low back pain for massage therapists, body-workers and other manual therapists who work in the world of hands-on pain management. One of the most popular and effective modalities for managing pain of all kinds, including pain that affects the low back, is called Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT). Created by pioneering practitioner and educator dev.Erik Dalton, MAT is a thorough, research-based system for assessing and addressing pain.

For a massage therapist who would like to bolster his or her skills when it comes to helping clients with low back pain, signing up for a MAT continuing education course can be a powerful step in the right direction. The clear first choice when it comes to learning techniques for low back pain would be Dalton’s “Home Study for Low Back, Hip and Leg Pain,” as this CE program teaches practitioners how to deliver the relief that clients with low back pain so desperately seek. One of the biggest reasons there is such high client demand for MAT is the fact that practitioners who possess these skills offer a natural and non-invasive solution to troublesome pain. In a YouTube clip called “Training Classes to Ease Low Back Pain,” taken from Dalton’s home study CE class, you can quickly see how helpful MAT instruction will be when it comes to serving clients with chronic pain.

MAT Training Classes Address Low Back Muscle Spasms

Just by watching this very brief clip, you get a chance to see how Dalton has developed an incredibly effective myoskeletal technique to help those clients who are suffering from chronic spasm in the low back, specifically in the region of the quadratus lumborum. This MAT move uses muscle energy, deep tissue stretching and myoskeletal techniques to melt fascial adhesions and release the spasm at the root of the client’s low back pain and joint jamming. Far from a complicated protocol that will be tough for a massage therapist to remember and perform properly, Dalton teaches his techniques in a way that makes them clear and simple. The clarity of the instruction within all of Dalton’s MAT training classes is an essential part of what makes this modality so effective when it comes to managing pain. Those who learn from Dalton and his team walk away with the ability to perform pain-relieving massage with confidence.

In this short video alone, we see how Dalton teaches the practitioner exactly how to go about applying pressure to quadratus lumborum muscle — not directing the client to breathe, but using her natural respiration to sink deeper and deeper. He provides easy to follow guidance, directing practitioners to go toward the belly button as they continue to take up slack on the client’s exhalation. Once the practitioner has gone all the way down to the quadratus lumborum, Dalton’s next instruction is to ask the client to pull up on the therapy table with her hand, and then to wiggle one of her feet, which serves as an enhancer. This entire myoskeletal technique, simple and clear under Dalton’s experienced instruction, is actually based on Serge Gracovetsky’s widely embraced theory of the spinal engine, which involves an understanding of the spine as a primary force in gait.

MAT Training Classes Address Low Back Muscle Spasms

One of the most popular and effective training classes for managing pain of all kinds, including pain that affects the low back, is called Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT).

Just by watching this very brief clip, you get a chance to see how Dalton has developed an incredibly effective myoskeletal technique to help those clients who are suffering from chronic spasm in the low back, specifically in the region of the quadratus lumborum. This MAT move uses muscle energy, deep tissue stretching and myoskeletal techniques to melt fascial adhesions and release the spasm at the root of the client’s low back pain and joint jamming. Far from a complicated protocol that will be tough for a massage therapist to remember and perform properly, Dalton teaches his techniques in a way that makes them clear and simple. The clarity of the instruction within all of Dalton’s MAT training classes is an essential part of what makes this modality so effective when it comes to managing pain. Those who learn from Dalton and his team walk away with the ability to perform pain-relieving massage with confidence.

In this short video alone, we see how Dalton teaches the practitioner exactly how to go about applying pressure to quadratus lumborum muscle — not directing the client to breathe, but using her natural respiration to sink deeper and deeper. He provides easy to follow guidance, directing practitioners to go toward the belly button as they continue to take up slack on the client’s exhalation. Once the practitioner has gone all the way down to the quadratus lumborum, Dalton’s next instruction is to ask the client to pull up on the therapy table with her hand, and then to wiggle one of her feet, which serves as an enhancer. This entire myoskeletal technique, simple and clear under Dalton’s experienced instruction, is actually based on Serge Gracovetsky’s widely embraced theory of the spinal engine, which involves an understanding of the spine as a primary force in gait.

Click here for more information.