Foundations in Manual Therapy Whole Body Seminar

Location:

Miami, Florida: April 6-7, 2025.

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Class Description

This class is a comprehensive foundational course for implementing manual therapy from the perspective of the target audience of occupational, physical, and massage therapists. This course teaches a slow, sustained, non-manipulative form of manual therapy from a shared decision-making perspective. Head-to-toe issues are covered, emphasizing reliance on patient input as a driving force that underpins the intervention. Instead of relying on one of many pathology or tissue-based perspectives to explain dysfunction and remediation, this work offers a more neutral point of view, exploring the range of possibilities. Neurological and behavioral views of touch-based treatments, which are well-aligned with shared decision-making perspectives, are explored. Active patient participation via movement and decision-making avoids the common criticisms of the passive nature of manual therapy interventions. Acknowledging the diversity of potential factors that influence patient outcomes in manual therapy encounters, the learner will be asked to put aside pre-existing beliefs and experiences and allow uncertainty to factor into the application of these interventions.

Given the broad clinical interests of the target audience, focus will be placed on areas of mutual interest. The class content easily aligns with multiple models of care the target audience utilizes. While presented through specific body region techniques, this work allows the clinician to modify more traditional clinician-driven perspectives to best leverage patient buy-in.

Learning Outcome
After completing this seminar, the therapist will be able to apply manual therapy treatment from a shared decision-making perspective to remediate pain and movement disorders throughout the body.

Learning Objectives
After successful completion of this workshop, the therapist will:

Be able to compare and contrast the traditional pathology and “tissue-based” explanatory models of dysfunction and change with neurologically-based and behaviorally influenced models of manual therapy.
Describe the strengths and limitations of a postural/biomechanical evaluation and treatment-based approach.
Understand and apply body-wide treatment models and options presented from a shared decision-making perspective in a manual therapy session.
Effectively combine touch-based treatment with movement-based interventions.
Be able to incorporate and teach home intervention based on their clinical knowledge and the lived experiences of the patient.

Agenda

Day One
8:30 am – 9:00 am Registration
9:00 am – 10:30 am Introduction to a shared decision-making model of manual therapy
10:30 am – 10:45 am Break
10:45 am – 1:00 pm Neck region
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm Face and jaw
3:30 pm – 3:45 pm Break
3:45 pm – 5:30 pm Anterior thorax and shoulders
End Day One

Day Two
9:00 am – 11:00 am Posterior thorax and shoulders
11:00 am – 11:15 am Break
11:15 am – 1:00 pm Upper extremities
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Lumbar and pelvic regions
4:00 pm – 4:15 pm Break
4:14 pm – 5:30 pm Lower extremities
End Day Two

Total contact hours: 14.0

Class content, timing, and order are flexible based on the audience’s interests. The comprehensive hands-on manual includes material and content not necessarily covered in this 2-day workshop.

Target audience
Physical therapists, occupational therapists, massage therapists, and others interested in this field.

Privacy and Security Policy

Registration Details and Cancellation Policy

Enrollment at all seminars is limited. The registration fee includes the PDF of the course syllabus (distributed by email approximately 2-3 weeks before the class date). No meals, lodging, transportation, or parking are included in the registration fee. For syllabus usage, you can download the syllabus to an electronic reader, laptop, iPad, etc., or print it out for use in the seminar. You will not be provided a hard copy at class time unless you notify us beforehand.

Registration payment may be made using the payment links on this page, from the form available here, or payment by phone using a credit card (585-244-6180). An email confirmation will be sent to you after payment is received at our office. The registration form must be completed in its entirety or you will forfeit your seat in the class.

You may cancel your registration up to 14 days before the seminar with a $50 processing fee. If you need to cancel less than 14 days before the seminar, you may transfer your registration to another seminar of your choice. Otherwise, you will forfeit the full registration fee. Refunds will be processed within 30 days of the refund request and will be made through the payment source from which your payment was originally made. No matter the timing, all refunds for payments made by credit cards will also be reduced by the actual Merchant Fees charged to merchants. The credit card processing company does not refund this fee to the merchant and is typically 3% of the purchase price. The actual transaction form, which shows your purchase and the fees paid by the merchant, will be sent to you before processing the refund to allow you to view the aforementioned fee.

We reserve the right to cancel any seminar based on minimum class enrollment requirements or emergencies, in which case the tuition fee will be fully returned within 30 days of the canceled event. Foundations in Manual Therapy Seminars is not responsible for any guaranteed/prepaid airline/hotel reservation. Before booking your travel, you are advised to email or call to ensure the class is confirmed.

Any grievances or concerns regarding Foundations in Manual Therapy Seminars should be made to:

Foundations in Manual Therapy Seminars
PO Box 548
Lima, NY 14485
585-244-6180
(fax: 1-866-413-9019)

Continuing Education Credits

This class is approved by NCBTMB (and NY Sponsored) for 15 In-Person CEs (Course ID: 70079717). It will be approved for Florida physical and massage therapists through CE Broker.

Relevance to the Occupational and Physical Therapy professions
The professional literature has shown that manual therapy can be an effective means of dealing with issues of pain, movement disorders, activities of daily living, and specifically, the diagnoses and conditions covered in this seminar. This seminar is relevant to occupational and physical therapy professionals based on that evidence and the inclusion of shared decision-making into the clinical encounter, and the effects of manual therapy are viewed from a blended mechanical, neurobiological, and behavioral/contextual framework. The goal of the work taught in this seminar is to teach contextually appropriate touch-based care free from the viewpoint of soft tissue change but to improve the quality of movement so that the patient can fully participate in a therapeutically designed exercise and movement program to foster independence. Attendees will leave this class able to treat movement disorders in various ways successfully. It will allow them to use and expand upon their existing skills and knowledge using the principles of manual therapy in both evaluation and treatment. This work aligns well with existing exercise-based models of care, and the learner will be prepared to begin using the material from day one after completion of the seminar.

Selected references
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