The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession

Eric Stephenson takes us inside Elements Massage weathering the pandemic. From establishing new protocols to examining client interaction, Elements Massage’s safety committee worked to build safety standards, client reassurance, and personal connection in a time of isolation. The result: with more than 450,000 massages given in their 250 clinics since May 1, Elements Massage has a .01% COVID-19 positive connection rate with their studios, and zero outbreaks at any studio to date. Eric also discusses his life mission of increasing MT career longevity in the profession and provides some silver-lining optimism for the future of bodywork.   This episode sponsored by:   Anatomy Trains   Guest bio:   Eric Stephenson is a 20-year massage veteran and Chief Wellness Officer for Elements Massage, a 250-unit franchise system headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Eric is also Co-Founder of imassage, Inc. in Delray Beach, Florida, an education and consulting company dedicated to extending the careers of massage therapists and spa practitioners through customized continuing education focusing on preventing injury and workers’ compensation claims. Eric creates continuing education specializing in teaching Deep Tissue Massage that doesn’t harm the therapist or the client. All of his workshops focus on saving your hands with his “No Thumbs!” approach and cord body mechanics that help prolong MTs’ careers. In 2014, he joined the Board of Directors of the International Spa Association (ISPA) in Lexington, Kentucky. His experience as an entrepreneur, consultant, and speaker in the wellness industry have taken him around the world.

This episode tells the story of a client who is approaching the end of her life. Cancer metastasis to her brain has led to some language difficulties. We will talk a bit about oncology massage therapy, palliative care, Cyberknife surgery, and cerebral shunts. But the main lesson here is about patience and presence with people who have some communication challenges.   Links:   For more on CyberKnife technology   For more on cerebral shunts   Diagram showing a brain shunt   For more on education about massage for cancer patients:   Society for Oncology Massage   Tracy Walton & Associates   Healwell   For more on education about massage therapy in hospice care:   Healwell   This podcast sponsored by:   Books of Discovery   Anatomy Trains   Host: Ruth Werner: www.ruthwerner.com

Send your future questions to podcast@abmp.com.   The podcast sponsored by:   Anatomy Trains   Guests:   Eric Stephenson is a 20-year massage veteran and Chief Wellness Officer for Elements Massage. Eric is also Co-Founder of imassage, Inc., an education and consulting company dedicated to extending the careers of massage therapists and spa practitioners through customized continuing education focusing on preventing injury and workers’ compensation claims. In 2014, Eric joined the Board of Directors of the International Spa Association.    Ruth Werner is a former massage therapist, a writer, and an NCBTMB-approved continuing education provider. She wrote A Massage Therapist’s Guide to Pathology, now in its seventh edition, which is used in massage schools worldwide. Werner is also a long-time Massage & Bodywork columnist, most notably of the Pathology Perspectives column.    Laura Embleton is Director of Government Relations for ABMP.     Debbie Higdon is Risk Management/Special Services for ABMP.   Les Sweeney is President of ABMP.   Links:    Werner’s books are available at Books of Discovery   Ruth Werner   Elements Massage    

In this episode, a client might be disappointed. A therapist is very concerned. And we don’t know what will happen next. When a “pinched nerve” that has been quiet for six months suddenly creates symptoms in the middle of a massage, what’s a therapist to do? We will talk about what could be going on here (including some fascinating things about nerve-generated pain), and what the best next steps could be.   This podcast sponsored by:   Books of Discovery   Anatomy Trains   Host:   Ruth Werner

Recent events have turned our world upside down. Our routines have been altered, our freedoms have been compromised, and fear of harm is at an all-time high. It’s natural to feel powerful emotions like stress, sadness, and grief in times like these. In this episode, author and instructor Cindy Williams, LMT, talks about what happens when these emotions become too powerful or uncomfortable to manage and get buried beneath the surface. Williams discusses the outward—and hidden—signs and symptoms of suffering, and the unique opportunity massage therapists and bodyworkers have to assist their clients in becoming conscious of the emotions stored in the tissues of their body so that they can be released. Williams also shares phrases to use to help clients become more in tune with what they may be feeling in order to take the client out of the narrative in their head and connect the experience to a sensation in their body, so they can stop thinking and start feeling.       This episode is sponsored by:   Anatomy Trains   Links:   “Surfacing Hidden Suffering” by Cindy Williams    

Guess the pathology: an egg-sized lump in the groin. In this episode of “I Have a Client Who …” a massage therapist describes a client who comes in asking for groin work—to help with a “knot.”     What on earth is going on?    It turns out to be simple, but way, way outside our scope of practice—to label, or to treat.     Inguinal hernias are common injuries in men, because the passage of the spermatic cord into the abdomen creates a structural weak spot at the inguinal ring. When that spot gets stressed and stretched, loops of the small intestine can bulge through. This can be a minor issue, or it can become serious very quickly—and the only permanent solution is surgery.     This episode is sponsored by:   Anatomy Trains   Host:    Ruth Werner    ABMP Pocket Pathology: “Hernia”   

Everyone is selling something, massage therapists and bodyworkers included. It’s all about how you sell what you’re selling. What MTs and bodyworkers are really selling is an hour of their complete, undivided attention and caring. But what happens when the client is “right,” but factually wrong? Cal Cates and Kerry Jordan of Healwell have some thoughts about the difference between the validity of a client’s experience and what the therapist knows to be scientifically and mechanically sound. Cal and Kerry talk about why it’s important for MTs to stay present throughout a session to remain attentive and curious so clients feel heard. Part of that means educating massage therapists how to hear what the client is conveying in a way that validates what the client feels—even if it’s factually incorrect—and how to still perform work that is scientifically and mechanically accurate without having to “set the client straight.”     Cal and Kerry also give their thoughts on how to negotiate when things do turn controversial, and share some of their favorite phrases to use in those difficult moments to help navigate these situations with grace.     This episode is sponsored by:   Anatomy Trains   Links:   Read Cal Cates and Kerry Jordan’s companion article on this topic, “The Customer is Always Right . . . But Are They Really?”, in the September/October 2020 issue of Massage & Bodywork magazine.   Healwell    Massage Therapy Without Borders

A man has a stroke at age 35. He fully recovers, but is put on a lifelong prescription of anticoagulants. What is going on, and will he ever be able to receive the deep massage he wants?   In this episode of “I Have a Client Who …” we look at a common anomaly called patent foramen ovale. We discuss its connection to cryptogenic stroke (and we even dive into migraine for a hot second). Finally, we talk about some variables that inform the safety of massage therapy for clients taking anticoagulant drugs.    Links:    YouTube animation of PFO repair    YouTube animation of PFO repair    From the Cardiovascular Research Foundation: Complete PFO Closure May be Key for Migraine Reduction    From the American Headache Society: PFO Closure for Migraine Prevention    From Stroke: “Frequency of Patent Foramen Ovale and Migraine in Patients with Cryptogenic Stroke”  “And Now for Something Completely Different: Patent Foramen Ovale,” Massage & Bodywork magazine, October/November 2007  

Zeel Co-Founder Alison Harmelin and Zeel Senior Director of Public Health and Workplace Safety Amir Hemmat discuss the current state of PPE for massage therapists, including how to prioritize which products to use and which partners to trust, how to plan ahead so you’re not caught unprepared in your practice, and what steps Zeel is taking to ensure the safety of their therapists and clients.      This episode is sponsored by:   Anatomy Trains   Links:    Zeel     How to test PPE (blog post)     How Zeel is keeping its community safe while delivering in-home services (blog post)   

A client who was recently in a motor vehicle accident was “cleared for massage” by her primary care provider. But it turns out she had no X-rays and that hid the fact that she sustained a fracture to her sternum. What is the responsibility of the massage therapist when a client has been “cleared for massage”? Ruth has some thoughts.   Interesting links:   Despite deaths, injuries and recalls, air bags still save lives   Risk of thoracic injury from direct steering wheel impact in frontal crashes   Causes and risk factors of a broken sternum   Sternal Fracture   Breastbone Fracture - Sternal Fracture   This podcast sponsored by:   Books of Discovery   Anatomy Trains   Host:   Ruth Werner