ABMP Podcasts for Massage Therapists & Bodyworkers

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Exploring the issues and challenges unique to the massage and bodywork community.

Subscribe to The ABMP Podcast in the Apple Podcast Store, Google Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you access your favorite podcasts, or click on an episode below to listen online.

Send questions, topic ideas, and guest recommendations to podcast@abmp.com, and we may answer your question on a future podcast.

 

Ep 96 – “I am enough”: Addressing Anxiety with Amanda Huggins

In part one of this conversation, Amanda Huggins defines anxiety and describes her own challenge to integrate the mental, physical, and spiritual in her personal life. She helps us get to the emotions underneath the umbrella term anxiety—fear, guilt, imposter syndrome—and lets us know the difference between the stories we tell ourselves (unpacking how beliefs began) and our truths. We conclude with some affirmation practices, the power of grounding, and valuing our worth.

Ep 94 – Get Involved! Talking Government Relations with Laura Embleton

ABMP Director of Government Relations Laura Embleton joins the podcast to tell us about the advocacy work her team does to support individual practitioners across all 50 states. Laura’s goal is to ensure fair legislation is enacted without overburdening practitioners. We discuss her battle with illicit businesses operating under the guise of massage therapy, human trafficking, media and states usage of the term massage parlors, and, most importantly, how individual practitioners can get involved to make a difference.

Ep 93 – A Failure to Communicate About a Failure of the Liver: “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner

A client didn’t share an important piece of information—and the therapist didn’t ask. The result: a serious situation that massage could have made much worse. In this episode, we talk about a surprising relationship between bariatric surgery and liver failure—and about the need to ask open-ended, inviting questions that will help us get a clear and full understanding of our clients’ health challenges.

Ep 91 – An Ayurvedic Lifestyle: Detox on the Equinox with Angie Parris-Raney

Angie Parris-Raney, Chopra Center Certified in meditation and ayurvedic lifestyle, joins the podcast to break down her recent article, “Detox on the Equinox,” in Body Sense magazine. Angie lays the foundation for bringing fresh energy and movement to our seasonal transition into spring. She gives five tips on improving diet, exercise, meditation, tongue scraping, and self-massage. And, she informs us about avoiding FLUNC foods.  

Ep 90 – Lots o’ Clots, Part 2: “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner

Another episode about DVT and pulmonary embolism—but this one looks really different from last week!

  • New client says, “I want to make you aware of my pulmonary embolism this week . . . my hospitalist says massage will be OK”
  • Encouragement to do massage
  • Encouragement NOT to do massage

What to do??? In the face of contradictory advice, we walk through this decision-making process, discussing the difference between information and permission along the way. 

Ep 89 – Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow with Dr. Joe Muscolino

Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are musculoskeletal pathologies hallmarked by elbow pain. However, even though these conditions cause elbow pain, they are not conditions of the actual elbow joint; rather they are overuse syndromes of the musculature of the hand and/or fingers. And these conditions aren’t just relegated to those participating in these two sports. These overuse injuries can be caused by actions as simple as gripping your steering wheel, a pen, or your cell phone too tightly.

Ep 88 – Lots o’ Clots, Part 1: “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner

A client with a complicated health history (including cancer and newly adjusted chemotherapy) has a medical emergency: deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli. Now she wants massage. There’s a lot to balance in this decision, which is not as clear-cut as it seems. In this episode, we consider some of the variables about massage for a person with this medical history and find a way to get to a good conclusion.

Ep 87 – The Complicated Life of Plantar Fascia, The Rebel MT, with Allison Denney

Every wonder why some people seem to be able brush off massive blows and some seem to feel all the feels? There are pros and cons in both scenarios, just like in the tissues of our body. In this episode, Allison explains why the tension produced by growing up and the tension found in the plantar fascia of the feet are similar and necessary. 

Ep 86 – Telephone Tag: Voicemail Dos and Don’ts

Are you using your voicemail in a professional manner? Is your voicemail always full, allowing no one else to get through? Do you even have a voicemail message, or is there just a lonely “beep”? Having made thousands of calls to practitioners over the years and often hearing no professional connection to their practices, co-hosts Kristin Coverly and Darren Buford discuss why having a professional voicemail message is the gateway to your business. Has there ever been such low-hanging fruit to improving your practice in under five minutes?

Ep 85 – Fem-Pop Follow-Up: “I Have a Client Who …” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner

In episode 77, from February 19, 2021, a client with “critical limb ischemia” wants massage while he awaits corrective surgery for an occluded artery. So, we talked about peripheral artery disease and talked about the risks and reasons to be cautious in this situation. In this follow-up episode, we find the client was in better shape than I thought, and the massage therapist shares her treatment choices and rationales for a really hopeful outcome. This is yet another example of how important it is to treat the person, not the diagnosis.

News

"Outside the Room:" with Brooke Riley, LMT

In this episode of Outside the Room, CG Funk is joined by licensed massage therapist Brooke Riley to discuss massage therapy career growth and industry evolution. 

Blog

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