Several hundred fascia scientists and practitioners walk into a room. . . and walk out with community and connection. Get tangible takeaways from this year's 7th Fascia Research Congress.
A growing body of research on the craniosacral rhythm (CSR) is working to validate what has been palpated for decades—the CSR is a distinct and measurable physiological rhythm that has given way to its own distinct therapeutic discipline.
Crafting a definition for this profession can help unify massage therapy and massage therapists in their roles as valid health-care providers.
Marma points can unlock a wealth of information about imbalances in the body; marma massage is the Ayurvedic tool practitioners can use to get there.
Reading the body remains a pseudoscience; yet, examining the mystery of body types through systems like Ayurveda or somatotyping can help practitioners approach each client in ways distinct to their constitution.
I often pose this question: "If you could have one thing different when you walk out that door, what do you want it to be?"
The first Black Massage Therapist Conference was held October 14 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was rich with support, learning, and encouragement, and ABMP was proud to be a sponsor in attendance.
Rather than enforce physical symmetry, Aston Kinetics (which trains people in movement, bodywork, fitness, and ergonomics) seeks to recognize the asymmetries natural to a person's body.
No matter how many textbooks and photos massage therapists sift through, no experience can equate to seeing bodies and tissues in the dissection lab.
Every few years, ABMP undertakes a process to query state massage therapy boards in order to prepare a massage therapist population estimate.
Despite the impact COVID-19 had on massage school enrollment, a survey from Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) found that massage graduate numbers are on the rise.
Thorough cleaning habits can prevent pathogens from being passed between clients and massage therapists by various modes of transmission.
Long ignored or thought of as packing material filling the space between skin and muscles, fat is finally getting its recognition as essential to human health and a part of the fascial system massage therapists tend to every day.
The 6th International Fascia Research Congress (FRC) was held in Montreal, Quebec. Read some highlights from our Massage & Bodywork authors, educators, and friends.
What we do and who we are as massage therapists needs to be more accurately reflected in massage therapy research.
While the term placebo effect can carry negative connotations, it can also be a positive in working with clients when we use placebo pathways to help clients feel better and help manager their pain.
Tensegrity. It's not just a useful model; it may prove to be the tensional blueprint of all living matter.
We asked ABMP members some questions about the prices of their typical 60-minute massage or bodywork session—where it is now, and how it has changed.
In order to closer examine how massage therapy is attuned to the needs of the client, research protocols must be flexible.
The nature of the massage therapist and client relationship is different than the relationship between the client and other health-care providers, but that doesn't mean it's less important.
Origin/insertion terminology creates a rigidity in thinking that can obscure the simplicity of muscle function.
Whenever two surfaces need to glide—like tendon sheaths, the pericardium and the heart, or two muscles along each other—hyaluronic acid ensures everything goes smoothly.
Histories taught in bodywork courses need to consult professional historians to become broader and provide context and understanding, not just fact files.
This is the third installment in a series of four articles on narrative-based medicine, a protocol for building the therapeutic alliance that rests on holistic principles and addresses shortcomings in evidence-based medicine and biopsychosocial models of practice.
Each of us has a toolbox packed with assessments and techniques for treating clients with various pain complaints. Using clinical reasoning, we can evaluate these practices and apply them effectively. Put simply, clinical reasoning is the process by which a therapist interacts with a client.
The last installment in a four-part series, this article explores the ethics and aspects of holistic "narrative medicine."
Scent is one of the strongest sensory experiences for most animals, including dogs and horses. Essential oils and other aromatics can be included as part of a wellness practice for animals, but how?
The traditional and accepted processes of conducting and publishing research are deeply flawed. Researchers are dissuaded from being truly curious and are manipulated into publishing their findings in incomplete and misleading ways that don't serve honest inquiry and discovery.
As manual therapy professions continue to grow, the biopsychosocial (BPS) healthcare model has been embraced particularly by practitioners of a holistic mindset, because of its potential for a more nuanced and compassionate whole-person approach. Yet, 50 years after its emergence, it has not seen the success some may have hoped for.
In March 2021, ABMP conducted a survey of US massage therapists and bodyworkers. Nearly 3,000 professionals were generous with their time and participation. Following is an overview of highlights from
