Training Your Touch: Advanced Palpation Skills

Real success in massage therapy, or any method of hands-on healing, depends largely on your mastery of mindfulness and palpation. When Andrew Taylor Still founded the first Osteopathic medical school, his first-year students devoted one hour each day to developing palpation skills. These were true practitioners of manual medicine. There just isn’t enough time for that in a typical massage school curriculum.

Now, you can take matters into your own hands with these two, full days of training. The advanced palpation class blends lecture, discussion and guided exercises with plenty of hands-on practice to refine your sense of touch. On the first day, working with inanimate objects and living tissues, we adopt strategies from world-renowned educators to increase sensitivity and awareness. Then, we will use our newly enhanced abilities to evaluate the cardiac pulse and respiratory movements for signs of dysfunction, pathology, and nervous system activation. On the second day, our examination of skin, fascia and muscles will flow seamlessly into treatment with results that will boost your confidence as a therapist. If you expect palpation to be boring, I think you will be surprised.

Your study guide includes activities we do in class as well as excellent references so you can continue to evolve your skills after you leave. Our goal is not to add to your knowledge but rather to transform your practice. Whether you are a student, an experienced therapist or a massage instructor, you will find growth, insight and inspiration in this weekend adventure.

Core benefits

Develop and Refine Advanced Palpation and Manual Assessment Skills

Why take this two-day class?

After participating in this class, you will be able to:

  • Discuss the anatomy and physiology of touch
  • Discuss the importance of verbal description in palpation
  • Describe techniques to develop and enhance palpatory skills
  • Evaluate the level of nervous system activation through touch
  • Demonstrate specific techniques for assessing and treating fascia
  • Palpate and evaluate the cardiac pulse
  • Palpate and evaluate respiratory movements
  • Discuss skin temperature and its role in assessment
  • Demonstrate specific techniques for assessing and treating skin
  • Evaluate muscle tone and muscle function
  • Discuss the importance of “end-feel”
  • Evaluate joint health and range of motion

What participants have to say!

Fee

$350 Early Registration Price (including study guide) – Price varies with location – Semi-Private Mastery Class – $450

Continuing Education: 16 Contact Hours

“Training Your Touch: Palpation and Manual Assessment” is approved for the following:

  • NCBTMB (and for LMT’s in all states that accept NCBTMB approval)
  • Florida and Georgia Massage Therapists (CE Broker Tracking #: 20-610842)

Currently Scheduled Classes

Available Classes (Click or call 330.701.8780 for more information)

Randall W. Gibson is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education Approved Provider. (Provider #325713-00)