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
“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
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
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
Manual Therapy and the Vocal Athlete: An article in the Massage New Zealand Magazine The most recent issue of Massage New Zealand Magazine carries an article I wrote on Myofascial Release/Massage with the Vocal Athlete and the magazine has given permission for me to share it with you. Read the full article here, and please share… Continue Reading
New Video: A patient-centered approach to treatment to the hyoid region Here is another video clip highlighting the patient-centered approach I utilize in all of my seminars. This sequence shows a bit of the work taught in my MFR (Manual Therapy) for Neck, Voice, and Swallowing Disorders Seminar. One of the many great aspects… Continue Reading
What if the effects of manual therapy/myofascial release were less about the things we think we are doing with the tissues and more about the engagement we are having with the patient? I just finished putting the finishing touches on another full syllabus revision for my Foundations in Myofascial Release Seminar for Neck, Voice, and… Continue Reading
In April of 2016, I had the pleasure to meet Brian Fulton, RMT, who was a co-presenter at the Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of British Columbia’s Biennial Conference, “Manual Therapy: an Interdisciplinary Approach to the Science and Practice”. His talk involved the understanding of the placebo effect in manual therapy and since that time I have been… Continue Reading
Say Nothing Here is a link to an article I wrote for Nik Ng’s Massage & Fitness e-magazine (subscribe here) titled, “Say Nothing”. Regular readers will recognize by biases in this article, biases I think we all might be well-served if we adopt. Give it a read and let me know your thoughts. Walt Say… Continue Reading
What we do, ultimately, is help people feel more comfortable in their bodies so that they can move more easily and, in effect, heal themselves. The past ten years of my professional career has been devoted to working toward a more accurate narrative to explain the work I do. The story of how this came… Continue Reading
