Hi Everyone!


October and November passed in a blur. It has been a busy period for me, preparing for a new venture and continuing to teach and share. The Foundations I classes in Cortiva-Newington (Connecticut) and Cortiva-Seattle were great successes, with interest in the more science-based approach of Foundations Seminars becoming more evident by the number of therapists who attended. While I was in Seattle I filmed eight instructional videos that will allow massage therapists and physical therapists to view and obtain CE Hours. I never thought that my work could really be taught via an online/video format, but the folks at Medbridge have patiently worked me through my mental blocks. These online video trainings will give me a chance to reach a much wider audience and will work in tandem with my in-person seminars. The release date should be around late January/early February 2015, so stay tuned!

After a short break from teaching and traveling, 2015 starts off with a class in Honeoye Falls, NY (just five minutes from my house!) and three Florida classes in February and March. Registration is now open for the Miami class and the registration for the Fort Lauderdale and Tampa classes opens up January 1, 2015. All classes are listed below and on the website, including a number of Foundations II Seminars.

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I am frequently asked this question, as I believe most therapists are used to a tiered system of learning, where you start with the first class, move on to the second class, etc. This is quite common in continuing education, especially those course lines that have multiple offerings. I understand therapists who wish to specialize in a certain modality wish to be able to move through a program, advancing along the way, as this is how I learned. But after completing a very expensive and time-consuming curriculum, I was able to step back and realize that much of that training was not necessary. Repetition does breed familiarity, but does not guarantee to make you a quality therapist.

 

I see modern myofascial release as a quite simple process: Learn basic concepts of up-to-date pain science, accurate anatomical/physiological understandings as to exactly what we are impacting, then give it a frame of reference with basic techniques. Keep it simple and apply these core concepts to your current repertoire.

 

Both Foundations I and II teach core principles of touch and my all-important concept of the feedback loop. Locate "tissue in distress", obtain validation from the patient that what you have found is an aspect of their pain or dysfunction, and easily turn this into treatment. Simple. Both classes cover the body from head to toe, but do it with different techniques. There are a few key techniques that are repeated in both classes, one as an introduction/re-introduction to the sense of "feel", and another that tends to be more challenging to master. Neither class is more difficult than the other. Myofascial release need not be difficult to master. It is my goal to teach it to you in this manner.

 

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 New Feature 

 

I am introducing a new feature this month, Foundations Building Blocks (see below), where we will address some of the basics of this work. Whether you have taken one of my Foundations in Myofascial Release Seminars, taken MFR trainings elsewhere, or have yet to dip your toe into the MFR water, I think you will find benefit.

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The Foundations Approach continues to move forward, asking tough questions about the existing state of practice and education in the MFR field. Tough questions will often get folks upset, but we should always be assessing our own work. You can join in the discussions on these and other MFR-related topics by becoming a member of either our Facebook or LinkedIn Groups (or both).

 Facebook Myofascial Release Forum

LinkedIn Myofascial Release Therapists

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Finally, we recently revised the Myofascial Release Home Stretching, Treatment Tips page of the website, making the home stretching handouts easier to find, as well as including some other helpful information for you. Please check it out here.

For now,

Walt Fritz, PT

Foundations Building Blocks

 

Over the past few month I've done some of the most time-intensive work I've done since my college days. I was approached early in 2014 by Medbridge Education, a leading online resource for Continuing Education Trainings for physical therapists. They were in the process of expanding their offerings to include massage therapists and wished me to be a part of that process. Since that time they have expanded my offerings to be available for CE credits for PTs and MTs. Both the PT and MT CEU classes will be available in early 2015. A result of this process was the need to rethink my approach to not only teaching, but how to best represent my thoughts and beliefs to an expanding online/indirect market.

 

For years I have been refining/redefining the mental and physical process I use for evaluation and treatment. I long ago discarded my reliance on a bio-mechanical/postural-based model of evaluation and treatment, in no small part due to published papers such as this one. As a part of my Medbridge preparations, I came up with a Feedback Loop that expresses my evaluative journey quite well. (The image of the Feedback Loop is a bit blurred, but  click on this link to see it more clearly.)

 

 

What signals do we seek which tell us we have encountered an area in our patient that would benefit from treatment? Please note I have avoided labeling the "problem tissue", as I do believe there is too much guesswork when we do so and that any claims we make are more a result of our education/training/belief than it is from actual fact. Paul Ingraham outlines this issue quite well when he speaks of Palpatory Pareidolia. This Feedback Loop is what I use every time I touch a patient and which helps me to not only locate areas of concern, but also gives a chance for validation from my patient and easily tells me not only where to treat, but even which direction to treat.

 

To understand more about "frozen chicken", please refer to

this past blog post.

 

Thoughts?

 

Comments can be left at the blog. 

 

 

For now,

Walt Fritz, PT

Walt Fritz, PT

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Unless otherwise noted, all images and content copyright Walt Fritz, PT

MFRmail Newsletter/Foundations in Myofascial Release Seminars
Walt Fritz, PT
980 Westfall Rd., Suite 105
Rochester, New York 14618

585.244.6180