Advanced Muscular Therapy – Deep Tissue & Myofascial Technique: Neck & Back – FULL! See below for wait-list info.

There are over a hundred million visits to the doctor in the US each year for back and neck pain problems.  Most people who experience back and neck pain have periodic bouts of pain for years, despite the various types of treatments they may receive.  A lack of understanding of referred pain is frequently a major factor in why treatments fail. The referred pain receives the treatment and not the source. Injuries to the neck often refer pain to the arms, the upper back and to the head, which often produces headache-like symptoms. Pain in the low back often refers pain to the abdomen, hips, thighs, lower legs and feet.

In this accelerated, 95% hands-on, course in muscular therapy for injury, you’ll learn detailed palpation anatomy, as well as myofascial and massage techniques designed to support the treatment of the most common soft-tissue injuries in the neck, upper back, mid-back, and low back. For each part of the body we will focus first on physically identifying the frequently injured ligamentous and muscular structures as well as learning the myofascial and advanced muscular therapy techniques to address the stress and damage to these areas.

A unique feature of this workshop is the way the anatomy, specifically palpation anatomy, is taught.  It’s difficult to treat an injury unless you can actually locate it with your hands? Under supervision, you learn how to find the major ligaments that cause pain in the neck and low back.  Then you’ll move on to learn several dozen myofascial and deep tissue muscular therapy techniques that treat those injured structures. These techniques are designed to be effective for the client while causing a minimal amount of stress on the practitioner.

Treatment Areas Include:

THE NECK

• supraspinous and nuchal ligaments
• intertransverse ligaments
• TP7 ligaments
• suboccipital muscles •
• sternocleidomastoid muscles

THE BACK

• supraspinous and suprasacral ligaments
• iliolumbar ligaments •
• sacroiliac ligaments
• sacrotuberous ligaments
• gluteus medius muscle

You will also understand the anatomy of the neck and back as never before through physically locating and palpating each muscle, tendon, and ligament featured in these techniques. Most of these injury-related techniques were developed through Dr. Benjamin’s clinical practice and are being taught here for the first time.

BEN BENJAMIN, PhD in Sports Medicine, has been practicing massage since 1963 and has been nationally recognized for his contributions to massage therapy, receiving the AMTA President’s Award in 2000 and an induction into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame in 2010. With his years of experience as a therapist, educator, and author, Dr. Benjamin has been regarded as a voice of authority in the muscular therapy ­field.

He was the Founder and President of the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which began in 1974. Shortly after the Muscular Therapy Institute opened, Dr. Benjamin enhanced his practice by studying under Dr. James Cyriax, widely known for his pioneering work in orthopedic medicine. He has also integrated Aaron Mattes’ Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) techniques into his therapy. With a passion for helping individuals cope with and overcome pain, Dr. Benjamin has been lecturing internationally for more than 35 years and written countless articles in publications such as Massage Therapy Journal and Massage and Bodywork magazine.

Dr. Benjamin is also the author of several works referenced by those educators and students in the field, such as Listen to Your Pain, Are You Tense?, Exercise Without Injury, and co-author of The Ethics of Touch and Conversation Transformation.