Can touch be non-denominational? If you are reading this post chances are you’ve taken some sort of manual therapy training, or at least are considering taking some. If you are a newbie, consider this warning; no matter what sort of training you undertake you will be dragged down a rabbit hole of beliefs. These beliefs… Continue Reading
Anatomy Matters … But Which Anatomy? As a contribution to the NiceSpeechLady website/blog, I wrote an article about the way we view anatomy. It is important, but how do you view this importance? How does anatomy influence your evaluation and intervention? You can read the article here. Cheers, Walt Fritz, PT Foundations in Manual Therapy… Continue Reading
I can take it… Manual therapy, myofascial release, massage, and the host of other touch-based interventions often rely on the perception of the clinician’s expertise to gauge pressures. Patients will often give up power to the therapist in order to (try to) feel better, though isn’t that an odd arrangement? Allowing someone else to decide… Continue Reading
WHY WE DON’T ELONGATE FASCIA My colleague Whitney Lowe has written what appears to be the first article in a series that unpackages the rather antiquated beliefs that many manual therapists were taught and I believe that this article deserves sharing. Many in my old MFR camp may see this as just more of my… Continue Reading
Full participant feedback from a recent seminar I recently taught three of my Myofascial Release (manual therapy) for Neck, Voice, and Swallowing Disorders seminars in the UK and my hosts from the Birmingham class, SVS Associates, were kind enough to share their compiled survey/feedback results with me in an unedited form. I mention that it… Continue Reading
“Would you pay for that?” As an educator in the continuing education setting, I occasionally get a participant in one of my seminars who seems resistive to what I’m sharing. While I’ve not had any full-blown hecklers (I’m confident that that day will come) but I have had a few who seem utterly unimpressed by my… Continue Reading
Finding my voice: A patient-centered perspective In the latest edition of Massage & Fitness Magazine, I was asked to contribute an article relating to touch. The current issue is devoted to what might be happening beneath your skin (and in your brain) when we touch or are touched. Nicolas Ng, the publisher of Massage & Fitness Magazine,… Continue Reading
TMJ disorder in the head and neck cancer patient As I posted in my July 2019 newsletter, I want to introduce a paper that speaks to the frequency of TMJ disorder in post-head/neck cancer patients. While the treatment of TMJ is often relegated to PTs, the SLP is often seeing the greater percentage of head/neck… Continue Reading
GERD and MFR Study: Time for Protocols? Hot off the press is a study that caught my eye, for a variety of reasons. While no study checks all of the boxes this one seems quite credible. The study looks at whether the application of an MFR-style of interaction can reduce reliance on prescription medications, PPIs… Continue Reading
Treatment for Trismus vs. TMJ I recently uploaded another video to my YouTube playlist, “21 Questions”. This one takes a look at the overlap between manual therapy intervention for trismus and for TMJ disorder. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Cheers, Walt Fritz, PT Foundations in Myofascial Release Seminars I am a proud member… Continue Reading
A review of the MFR for Neck, Voice, and Swallowing Disorders Seminar Click here to read the full review from my recent seminar in New York City. Cheers, Walt Fritz, PT Foundations in Myofascial Release Seminars I am a proud member of the Medbridge Massage team of educators. I have 8 online courses, all… Continue Reading
Local impact of myofascial release/manual therapy for neck, voice, and swallowing disorders For many years I’ve wondered how my touch is noted inside the body, at least from a deformation standpoint. While taking one of Jacob Lieberman, DO’s manual circumlaryngeal treatment seminars this past March in the UK, I witnessed a video he had made… Continue Reading
Shielded Myofascial Release/Manual Therapy Manual therapy and myofascial release are historically performed directly on the skin. In my original line of MFR training, I was taught that if I did not work on the skin then I would be releasing clothing and not the fascia. Never mind that I lacked the critical thinking skills to… Continue Reading
Conjugate While working with a patient today, this person came up with an interesting word that piqued my interest. As a result of some complex, life-long jaw and mouth issues that were surgically altered a few years back, this person had been left with issues of jaw cramping, throat tightness that impacted both voice… Continue Reading
Podcast: MFR and the Voice, on Juliette Caton’s VocalScope I was recently interviewed by Juliette Caton for her new podcast, VocalScope, on the work I teach and its influence on voice. You can listen at iTunes here. The podcast is available on other platforms. For details please check out the VocalScope Facebook page. Cheers, Walt… Continue Reading
Myofascial release in the speech-language pathologist patient population By Walt Fritz, PT To expand the professional knowledge-based of the speech-language therapist/pathologist (SLP/SLT), I wish to introduce you to the use of myofascial release/manual therapy as a means of evaluation and treatment for a broad range of disorders familiar to you. Myofascial release (MFR) is a… Continue Reading
