Shared Decision-Making in the Manual Therapies In the Issue 2, 2020 of MNZ Magazine I contributed an article that speaks to evolving ways to view the patient/clinician interaction. Manual therapy (MFR, massage, etc.) all tend to be operator-centric, where the clinician is seen as the expert and carries the weight of decision-making. But the interactor… Continue Reading
Manual Therapy in Voice/Swallowing Disorders: An Introduction to the Evidence. An online course. The Course NOTE: The content of this 2-hour Introduction to the Evidence and Approach Online Course is already included in the 8-hour Hands-On Online Course. There is no need to purchase both courses. This standalone course mirrors the pre-seminar online module for… Continue Reading
How to Integrate Manual Therapy for Voice. A Zoom Webinar On June 11 I will be joining London, UK-based Vocal Coach Stephen King for a 90-minute How-To webinar on the integration of manual therapy for voice. I’ll do a quick unpackaging of a few myths (one of my favorite things to do!), establish a basis… Continue Reading
Manual Therapy: A Conversation with Walt Fritz on the NiceSpeechlady website Wilson Nice, SLP, interviewed me for an article on her website. In articles like this, I get a chance to unpackaged things a bit and Wilson leads me through a series of questions to speak more about the role I play in the speech-language… Continue Reading
Podcast with The Naked Vocalist I recently was interviewed by Steve Giles and Chris Johnson, both UK-based vocal coaches, about my rather different approach to manual therapy with the vocalist. Below is a short clip, with the full video viewable on Facebook at this link. The full video goes deep into manual therapy and voice,… Continue Reading
This is a repost of an article by my colleague Jamie Johnston. Jamie is a British Columbia-based RMT, owner of the Massage Therapist Development Centre, a website packed with information. Jamies is among a small but growing group of professionals who are breaking free of the culture of the tribalism inherent in many manual therapy… Continue Reading
Applying patient preferences and values in the EBP model How do you put into practice the 1/3 of the evidence-based practice (EVP) model that involves patient preferences and values? Information seems rather scarce when I explore the websites of ASHA, RCSLT, and the APTA, though all are replete with recommendations on choosing proper evidence and… Continue Reading
The feeling of a voice (or any other) issue What does it FEEL like? -The Feeling of a Voice IssueThe approach used in my Foundations in Manual Therapy: Voice and Swallowing Disorders requires a bit of a different framing of the issue. Traditionally problems, be they voice, swallowing, or a variety of other issues facing… Continue Reading
Time to Give Back: Free Seminar Seats for SLP Students/CFs Since 2013, it has been my honor to present manual therapy continuing education to the Speech-Language Pathologist and Voice communities. I’ve come to know many of you through my Foundations in Myofascial Release Seminars (soon to be rebranded as Foundations in Manual Therapy Seminars) and… Continue Reading
Manual Therapy and the SLP “My approach to manual therapy elevates patient perspectives and preferences to a place of equal weighting with the clinician’s (me) experience applying the evidence and the actual published evidence. This power-sharing is an expectation of our practice and the EBM, however, is that reflected in your practice? We must start… Continue Reading
Touch and Movement Education Seminar Attached here is the full course details for the new Foundations of Manual Therapy: Touch and Movement Education Seminar. It will be taught this coming May 13-16, 2020 in Olympia, Washington by Jason Erickson, LMT and Walt Fritz, PT. There is an early bird discount in place through March 13,… Continue Reading
Walt Fritz’s Neck, Voice & Swallowing Disorders Seminar: ‘The Experience’ (A Review of a Recent Seminar) Wilson Nice, the owner of the website/blog NiceSpeechLady, recently attended one of my seminars and was kind enough to write a review of the class. Wilson supplies the SLP with TONS of free information and resources, so please give… Continue Reading
Crossed-arm syndrome The past decade seems to have been about losing friends. Leagues of MFR-type friends have gone away, no doubt due to my counter-culture statements and posts questioning much of what I was taught in my MFR training. I bid them a happy goodbye. So I suppose it’s time to alienate another cohort group;… Continue Reading
Podcast with The Knowledge Exchange on Biopsychosocial Aspects of Manual Therapy I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend an hour today with Sydney, Australia-based personal trainer, exercise scientist, and exercise physiologist Daniel Pablo Arbillo. We spoke at-length about incorporating aspects of the biopsychosocial approach in manual therapy and, specifically, how my approach… Continue Reading
Intellectual Laziness and Dishonesty People like stories and often the simpler the better. However, when we tell patients stories that are too simple, the message gets distorted, often so much so that we start believing these simple stories too. Stories, such as weakness as being the cause of pain/poor motor abilities or perceived tissue pathologies,… Continue Reading
Guidelines for The Foundations Seminar Approach to Manual Therapy After having presented my work this past week to physiotherapists in Doha, Qatar, I was asked to provide a basic guidelines for therapists who are new to this work. While I am hesitant to install protocols for all aspects of this work I do see the… Continue Reading
