The Four Essentials for a Thriving Massage Therapists will be introduced, practiced, and woven throughout the entire Advanced Pain Management Therapies© program. The Four Essentials are:
1. Advanced Tools
2. Ergonomics & Body Mechanics
3. Self Care is Health Care
4. Communication & Leadership Skills
The 4 Essentials Module will delve into best-of practices for deep tissue approaches, body mechanics, stretching ROM, as well as self-care and communication strategies that generate the most reliable therapeutic outcomes. Specifically, we will review the science of Polyvagal Therapy to enhance therapist and client “Vagal Tone” (relaxation response) and practice self regulation, co-regulation and communication skills that foster safety, collaboration, and easily meet or exceed expectations. The practices and approaches of the Four Essentials empower therapists to step into their role as a Healthcare Educator.
Be prepared to begin to connect with your MT colleagues and connect with your well being with some healing moves and touch therapies. Healing Moves are meant to provide an anatomical tutorial, enhance therapists’ body mechanics, as well as offering effective movement therapies for clients and therapists alike to interrupt their pain patterns. APMT candidates’ ability to communicate, teach, and demonstrate the rationale and practice of Healing Moves will be graded as part of the hands-on, final exam.

12 hours

Deep dive into the miraculous professional tools of the silicon cups, K-tape, RTR, CBD lotion, and even warmed towels to enhance your therapeutic results: all while giving your own personal tools (hands, fingers, wrists, spine, shoulders, etc) rest and refreshment!

12 hours

This module examines tenets from multiple manual and movement therapy approaches to generate greater ease and economy in our daily activities. Learn to perform and combine Advanced Stretching (indirect sheer) and Positive Pressure (direct sheer) to reshape disorganized fascia into a more harmonious and functional support system. Safely and dynamically enhance your and your client’s strength, flexibility, and mobility with pattern interruptions in your movement habits and with assisted stretching or “Call for Motion” that you provide others. And discover how to utilize the Ground Reaction Force (equal and opposite force of gravity) to support your healthy body mechanics and leverage the greatest impact with the least effort. Becoming aware of how different forces and lines of tension (myofascial meridians, kinetic chains, postural holding patterns, repetitive stress injuries, gravity, etc) in your own body (and in clients’ bodies) allows you to more effectively release unnecessary effort, tension, and pain.

10 hours

Discover and alleviate the common structural and behavioral causes of neck and jaw pain or injuries. Therapists blend their anatomical prowess with fascial reorganization techniques to diminish symptoms from whiplash, neck or jaw tension, limited mobility, and poor posture. Highlights include addressing the “psoas of the neck” or longus colli muscle, releasing the lower scalenes attachment at the ribcage, and practicing the MacKenzie method for resolving forward head position.

Advanced Pain Management Therapies© for Shoulders, Wrist, & Elbow Relief

Melt the boulders in the shoulders, soften stubborn trap tension, and encourage a stable shoulder girdle by realigning muscle imbalances. Therapists safely release the three main areas of nerve impingement at the thoracic outlet, comprehensively melt Frozen Shoulder symptoms, and help clients restore optimal ROM to their shoulders. Highlights include orthopedic joint capsular restoration, unlocking subscapularis in supine position, and the Rainbow technique for shoulder first aid relief.

12 hours

Localized pain or injuries must be addressed differently based on the individual client’s history and, perhaps more importantly, their current lifestyle behaviors. For instance, a sedentary client with back pain who does not exercise regularly generally requires gentler therapeutic interventions than a professional athlete with back pain who has a track record of exercising and challenging their body. This session discusses the negative physiological impacts of being sedentary, postural-induced pain, common sports-related injuries, how to customize session goals based on client lifestyle factors, and offers client-specific remedies.

2 hours

Provide therapeutic relief from chronic or acute low back or hip challenges–for clients and for yourself. Integrating science and sensitive attention, therapists practice decompressing the L5-S1 joint, release SI Joint discomfort, and assess the difference between disc injuries and facet joint injuries. Highlights include gentle and comprehensive psoas release, releasing the muscles most associated with pseudosciatica, and practice the Pelvic clock technique to restore balance and alignment at the base of the spine.

Advanced Pain Management Therapies© for Knee, Ankle, & Foot Relief

Help sooth and remediate foot, ankle, knee and outer hip pain. Discover how to utilize the side-lying position to maximize a comprehensive and 3D release of the lower extremities. Also review myofascial meridians and uncover lifestyle factors and simple interventions that lead to misalignment or improved functionality–from head to toe. Highlights include unlocking the key structures associated with knee pain, plantar fasciitis, and chronic ankle instability, providing therapeutic interventions to restore muscle balance, and re-educating the nervous system for more harmonious movement and function.  

12 hours

Here we practice sophisticated verbal and nonverbal assessment skills, explore recommend communication strategies, and deep dive into challenging and unusual client projects. We also explore how to assess the efficacy of our previous healing interventions and how to redesign or expand our therapeutic strategies in response to the track record of outcomes.

5 hours

Get all your questions answered and prepare to successful pass the in-person, live hands-on final exam.

5 hours