Before you enroll in a continuing education class on Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT), you may want to know more about what it means to earn a credential in this modality. For starters, MAT is a method of manual therapy that uses well-researched, strategic assessment protocols and deep tissue massage techniques to effectively manage and alleviate pain in a non-invasive manner. Earning certification as a myoskeletal therapist means securing an official credential that allows others to see and feel confident that you have undergone the training necessary to perform this more clinical method of manual therapy.
The credential of Certified Myoskeletal Therapist is a title granted to those professional massage therapists, bodyworkers, athletic trainers and other manual therapists who successfully employ Erik Dalton’s Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT) to effectively manage and alleviate pain in a non-invasive manner.
The credential of Certified Myoskeletal Therapist is a title granted to those professional massage therapists, bodyworkers, athletic trainers and other manual therapists who successfully complete at least one formal continuing education class on MAT. These classes are taught by Erik Dalton, the creator of MAT, and are available through Dalton’s teaching facility, the Freedom From Pain Institute. Prospective students may choose to take a MAT CE class online, in person or through a home-study CE package. Whichever method you choose, the end result of completing one of these MAT courses is certification as a myoskeletal therapist.
Earning this official MAT credential means that a manual therapist has been trained in a method of pain management that aims to promote skeletal alignment and muscular balance. Enhancing skeletal alignment with hands-on techniques can result in lasting solutions to stubborn pain patterns — which is one of the main reasons there is a high demand for manual therapists trained in MAT. By receiving this form of bodywork, clients may be able to eliminate or reduce the need for pain medications or invasive procedures. For those clients who are in the process rehabilitating from injury or surgery, MAT can speed the healing process and help people get back to their former level of function.
However, before you can begin to offer such valuable services to your clients — and earn the lucrative income associated with providing these services — you must be able to prove you have the training it takes to perform manual therapy for pain management in a safe, effective manner. Along with giving practitioners the skills and knowledge they need to begin providing their clients with MAT, Dalton’s CE classes also give manual therapists the prestigious credential they need to show clients and employers they possess an advanced set of hands-on skills for pain management.
Once you successfully complete a CE course in MAT, you will receive a diploma from the Freedom From Pain Institute, which you can use to display your Certified Myoskeletal Therapist credential. In addition, your name and contact information will be posted in the official online listing of Certified Myoskeletal Therapists. When clients in your area are searching the Internet for a manual therapist who has been trained in MAT, this is the directory they will find. It’s also the directory Dalton and his team refer potential clients to when they call the Freedom From Pain Institute looking for a local MAT practitioner.
Beyond the tangible benefits of a diploma and directory listing, as well as non-expiring national and state CEUs, the credential of Certified Myoskeletal Therapist also comes with a level of prestige that will help you stand out among the practitioners in your local community. This certification lets people know that you have been properly trained to address complex pain problems. The fact that a Certified Myoskeletal Therapist possesses this advanced skill set is the driving force behind yet another big benefit of earning this credential — the potential for increased income.
If you have ever been in pain for a prolonged period of time, it is not hard to understand why people are more than willing to compensate those who can find a way to reduce or eliminate the pain in a natural, non-invasive manner. With your MAT credential, and as you continue to refine your skills in this modality by earning additional CEUs, you will be able to offer the kind of pain-management services that are worthy of higher fees. The boost to income that MAT certification can provide also comes from increased client satisfaction and more business from repeat customers, word-of-mouth marketing and rising referrals.
