Neuromuscular Activation

Neuromuscular activation is a term used by physical therapists working to strengthening the brain to muscle connection. This brain to muscle connection happens naturally within the neuromuscular system when the nervous system (neural) and the muscular system (muscular) are working together effectively.
The neuromuscular junction is the point at which an electrical impulse is sent from the nervous system and passed to the muscle. These impulses signal the muscle fibres to contract and produce movement.

Sometimes this movement does come naturally and with little to no effort (e.g. using your legs to walk or using your hands to pick something up). Take your mind back to the time you learnt to ride a bike or swim in the pool. In the beginning it was challenging and un-natural, and it was only with practice that your movement became easier and more fluent, but before long you were jumping on your bike or in the pool and riding or swimming laps without even thinking about it.

Sometimes however, that brain to muscle connection can become damaged or weakened through injury, or perhaps it never developed correctly to begin with. This means that the electrical impulse that is usually sent from your nervous system isn’t being passed through to the muscle correctly or at all. Regular Neuromuscular Activation exercises not only help to build strength between the brain and muscle connection but they also help you gain better control over your muscles, improve muscle strength, overall improvement of your balance and allow the muscles to work in conjunction with each other which not only helps you get more from your workouts, but it can help you move more fluently and functionally through life in general!