Moving a profession’s knowledge-base forward is not an easy task. As a species I believe we hold fast to what is familiar and to resist change. My colleague, Whitney Lowe, has written an excellent article that addresses these issues and it may not be an easy read. Not that the technical jargon loses you, but… Continue Reading
An Interview: Marci Daniels Rosenberg, M.S., CCC-SLP
An Interview: Marci Daniels Rosenberg, M.S., CCC-SLP The new series of interviews I’ve posted here have thus far been with individuals involved in manual therapy from the massage/fitness end of the spectrum. For this interview, I wanted to branch into the other world I interact with; that of the voice and swallowing-related dysfunction. I’ve been… Continue Reading
Notes from Walt Fritz’s Workshop at the 2017 Voice Foundations Symposium
Many thanks to The Voice Foundation for making me feel welcome and inviting me to present my version of myofascial release for vocal dysfunction. I had prepared for my Friday workshop expecting 20-30 participants and, needless to say, I was a bit surprised at the very large turnout. As a result I lacked supplies for… Continue Reading
Myofascial release in the head and neck cancer patient
“Ignore the claims, as belief that one can somehow selectively target fascia, muscle, or other structure without providing simultaneous stimulation to all structure is fantasy.” (This post was written over a year ago but remains relevant. The evidence used to validate this work and this continuing education seminar is constantly updated, with the latest version… Continue Reading
Fitting myofascial release into an evidence‑based culture
“Myofascial release” and “evidence-based” are phrases that are seldom spoken together. Papers exist telling us how and why myofascial release (MFR) is not an evidence-based treatment model/modality. In today’s therapeutic culture, one that demands that we work from evidence-based perspectives, it is at time difficult to find much in manual therapy that appears to meet… Continue Reading
A patient-directed model of manual therapy
I think our patients deserve more. We are the experts. Be it myofascial release, manual therapy, massage, or any of the countless other terms used to describe what we do, we are trained to call ourselves the soft tissue experts. Patients seek us out due to our experience and expertise with pain and movement dysfunction.… Continue Reading
The Placebo Effect in Manual Therapy: An interview with Brian Fulton, RMT
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
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
The Good (and Bad) of a Simpler Narrative
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
More Mental Floss for the MFR Brain: Changing Your Story
With a broad-based education, credible continuing education, and critical thinking, I do think we can be less wrong about the work we do. I do not mean to criticize those who believe differently and certainly not those who taught me these concepts. Science moves forward and I thank those in my past. What if I asked… Continue Reading
Dialoguing in the Foundations in Myofascial Release Seminar Approach
Every form of manual therapy has its unique way of engaging a patient/client, both physically and verbally. Talking is often frowned upon in massage/manual therapy, as it is believed to interfere with the relaxation response or allowing the patient to go deep. Those things are important aspects of some work, but not mine. My Foundations… Continue Reading
The Simplicity of Myofascial Release/Manual Care
“We can only touch in so many ways. But it’s the choices we make with the findings of our touch that makes the difference.” A while back I wrote a blog titled “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” (The original article can be viewed here). The blog references the movie by the same title, which follows a 85… Continue Reading
Stories: Let Your Stories Mature and Grow
The topic of stories is one that has intrigued me for quite a long time and I’ve begun to talk a lot about stories during my seminars. I will have more to say in future blog posts, but for now I want to share an article I wrote that is published in the newest edition… Continue Reading
