Course Content
The principal aim of the course is to teach students how to assess and treat common musculoskeletal problems and sport injuries. We cover a range of skills including case-history taking, practical muscle and soft-tissue palpation, posture and movement assessment and trigger point location. These skills will underpin the Thai Massage techniques we teach so students
feel able to treat individually rather than applying a "routine" to every patient.
On the final day of the course will be a student clinic where students will treat outside patients in a real-clinic environment. This is where they put all their skills together in order to treat a range of common musculoskeletal complaints. Problems that students feel confident to assess and treat include:
- Sports Injuries:
- Repetitive strain injures e.g tennis elbow
- Tendonitis e.g rotator cuff strain
- Ligament strains e.g ankle strain
- Muscle tightness and inflexibility
- Poor posture
- Neck stiffness and tension head-aches
- Shoulder problems
- Low back pain
- Sciatica
- IBS and abdominal pain
The bulk of the practical technique takes skills from Thai Massage, which combines stretching, mobilisations and deep pressure techniques to release muscle tension and improve flexibility. We also take influences from other areas such as Tui Na (a branch of Chinese Medicine), Sports Massage and Osteopathy. Assessment is an important part of the course and we look at how to actively & passively assess joints and use testing for common conditions e.g how to differentiate between different forms of sciatica.
All techniques on a futon with light-weight clothing required to allow for flexible movement. These can be adapted for table-work.
Course content includes:
- All relevant muscle and skeletal A&P
- A background to Chinese Medicine and SEN theory
- The body mechanics of Thai Massage for safe practice
- Muscle and soft-tissue palpation sessions
- Myofascial trigger points for each area of technique
- Stretching; how to work with key muscle reflexes
- Joint assessment and tests for common problems
- How to assess postural patterns in relation to the plumb-line
- Over 120 techniques in supine, prone, side and sitting position
- Planning a course of treatment, including clinical supervision
Course materials include a detailed folder containing a step-by-step guide to all practical techniques, notes for all theory lectures and the location of Acupoints. A bibliography for other recommended reading is discussed in the first weekend.
