Minor injuries to your muscles can be a major pain, but with adequate recovery you should be able to restore lost strength quickly and easily. However, this problem becomes much more difficult when you’re dealing with repeat injuries or major overuse to the muscle. When this occurs, you may find that it’s impossible to utilize the muscle in ways you once did.
This inability to use your muscles can lead to major anxiety, especially if it is directly impacting your day-to-day personal and work responsibilities. While having a “switched-off” muscle can be distressing, professional support through AMIT can provide you with lasting relief. But what exactly is AMIT, and is it the right choice for you?
In this blog, we’ll explore what AMIT is, why you may need it in the first place, and what you can expect when you turn to your chiropractor for this care.
Understanding AMIT: What It Is and How It Works
AMIT, also known as Advanced Muscle Integration Technique, is a neuromuscular system that is used to treat muscles that have become inhibited, whether due to overuse or trauma. Your chiropractor will use precise muscle testing to determine where the weakness is, and then begin to stimulate specific reflexes to reactivate them.
There are several goals to this care, including restoring the communication between your brain and the muscle, eliminating chronic pain problems, improving physical performance, and preventing future or repeat injuries. If you’ve been struggling with “switched-off” muscles, experiencing lingering joint pain, or recurring injuries, it may be time to reach out for support.
Why Muscles Can Become “Switched Off” After Injury or Stress
While you might be dealing with “switched-off” muscles, you may be unsure why this is occurring or what can be done to address them. This most commonly occurs following a significant injury or a period of intense stress on the muscle. When this occurs, you may believe that the muscle has become physically damaged or paralyzed.
However, this isn’t the case. Instead, your nervous system has likely slowed down neural signaling from the brain to the muscle. This occurs when the injury activates receptors in the area surrounding the injury, sending a threat signal to your spinal cord. From there, inhibitory interneurons in the spinal cord are triggered.
This blocks the nerves responsible for telling your muscle to contract, leaving you unable to use the muscle in ways you once could. Your brain decides that moving the muscle at full force is too dangerous, so it reroutes your movement patterns. While this protects the muscle from further damage, it also puts you at risk in other ways.
Overutilizing other muscles to compensate for this “switched-off” muscle can mean that you’re opening the door to overuse injuries elsewhere. If you’ve noticed this occurring, it is in your best interest to reach out to a trusted medical provider, like your chiropractor, as soon as possible to begin working toward restoring muscle use.
How AMIT Helps Reconnect the Brain and Muscles
When a muscle becomes “switched off,” the goal isn’t simply to make it stronger. First, your body needs to recognize that the muscle can be safely used again. This is where AMIT can play an important role. By using targeted muscle testing and specific stimulation techniques, your chiropractor works to encourage the nervous system to reestablish communication with the affected muscle.
During treatment, the focus is placed on the specific areas where normal muscle response has been disrupted. Stimulating these areas may help the brain recognize the muscle and restore its ability to respond appropriately. Once that connection improves, the muscle can begin participating more effectively in everyday movements and physical activity.
Restoring this communication may also help reduce the need for surrounding muscles to compensate. Instead of relying heavily on other areas of the body, you can begin working toward more balanced movement patterns. For patients dealing with recurring pain, weakness, or limited mobility, this can be an important part of getting back to normal activity.
What to Expect During an AMIT Treatment Session
While AMIT is a great option for restoring the strength and use of previously injured or stressed muscles, you may be unsure of what to expect. Although it is daunting, the process is simple and straightforward, delivering lasting results. This is what you can expect if you’ve scheduled an appointment with your chiropractic team:
- Initial Evaluation: Your chiropractor will begin by talking to you about the pain you’re experiencing and your comprehensive injury history.
- Muscle Testing: After the initial evaluation, they’ll perform a manual test to check for strength, stability, and brain-to-muscle connections.
- Identify Inhibition: With the testing, they will be able to determine where you are experiencing muscle shutdowns that need appropriate attention.
- Reactivation: Your chiropractor will begin treating the muscle, helping to restore the connection between your brain and the affected muscle.
- Retesting: Once they are done, they will retest the muscle to ensure it can withstand regular use and begin to strengthen after a period of dormancy.
Could AMIT Help Restore Strength, Mobility, and Function?
When you’re dealing with prolonged periods of strength, mobility, and function loss, you may worry that there isn’t anything you can do to restore it. However, AMIT is a great therapy option for anyone who is dealing with any of these symptoms. The entire purpose of this therapy is to restore full function to a muscle that is otherwise not responding to treatment.
With the support of a reliable chiropractic team, you can restore the lost strength, mobility, and function of your muscles. However, it is important to note that you may need a few sessions before you notice full recovery. Try to be patient during this period, as you don’t want to overstress the muscle while you are still in active recovery from its dormant state.
Additionally, make sure to keep an open line of communication with your chiropractic team throughout treatment. If you have any questions or concerns about your treatment and improvements from week to week, bring them up with your team to ensure anxiety is quelled and that you can go into each treatment feeling confident in your care.
Turn to Muscle & Joint for Comprehensive Recovery
If you’ve been struggling with an inactive muscle and want to begin restoring its strength and everyday use, our team at Muscle & Joint Chiropractic is here and ready to help. Our chiropractor, Dr. Marty Rueckert, is trained and certified to use AMIT to help patients from all walks of life restore “switched-off” muscles. Whether you just started experiencing symptoms or nothing else seems to be providing the results you need, our team is here to help.
When you are ready to begin exploring AMIT and want to learn more, reach out to our team in Tooele County for more information.