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ABMP Podcasts for Massage Therapists & Bodyworkers

Image of microphones on booms with the ABMP Podcast App Icon overlaid on the left side

 

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.

 


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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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?

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…

We rejoin Carole, Michele, and David and dive deeper into serving the pregnant client. Our guests discuss the critical thinking skills needed to address this population, preparing for this work with confidence, dispelling bodywork myths, and working with clients with high-risk conditions. We close by honoring Carole’s life’s work and what she’s brought to the massage profession. 

Part 1 of this two-part podcast celebrates the launch of the third edition of Carole Osborne’s book Pre- and Perinatal Massage Therapy. We’re joined by Carole and her co-authors, Michele Kolakowski and David Lobenstine, as we discuss how therapists can work with clients across the trimesters of pregnancy, through labor and birth and during the postpartum period, establishing a continuum of care. 

A client with corticobasal syndrome wants to improve her range of motion in her right arm. Nothing seems to work so far—sessions with her personal trainer and two massage sessions haven’t made any significant changes. What is corticobasal syndrome? Well, it’s complicated. And what treatment options have the most promise? (You might be surprised.) And most importantly, what is a realistic expectation for this client?

Have you ever been told to listen to your gut but have no idea what your gut is telling you? What if muscles suffer from the same affliction? In this episode, Allison Denney, The Rebel MT, takes a closer look at the rectus abdominus and explores how to approach a muscle that doesn’t always know what it wants.

Joyce Gauthier is on a mission to empower massage therapists to spot and deter inappropriate client behavior through RespectMassage.com. Join us as she describes how to identify, stop, and get out of a bad situation. From knowing how to properly screen clients to understanding code words and red flags, you’ll be more able to stop illicit behavior before it occurs. Joyce provides verbal cues, marketing collateral for your practice and website, and suggestions for simple security setups. For more information, visit…

A new client calls for a manual lymph drainage session, and they have a diagnosis the massage therapist has never heard of—toxic mold syndrome. Information online about this condition is confusing and inconsistent. What is toxic mold syndrome? Does it even exist? Why is it so controversial? And most of all, what can we do to help this client?