After a couple of years of sabbatical, Massage Matters is back, although we are now called TOUCH MATTERS – why? Because we have decided to expand to a wider audience, with more content, more education, and more irreverence to the status quo of our industry!

In this episode of Touch Matters Podcast, part of the Physio Matters group, your hosts Anna Maria Mazzieri and Matt Phillips of Runchatlive.com are joined by special guests Roger Kerry and Kenneth Young, two of the lead authors on the recently published paper "⁠A Modern Way To Teach And Practice Manual Therapy⁠" (free to access, click link to view).

The paper was a collaboration between 16 authors from different professions (one of which was our very own Anna Maria Mazzieri), with other lead authors including Steve Vogel and Vasilis Georgopoulos.

In this episode, you will hear how traditional systems of manual therapy, including physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, and soft tissue therapy have been built on principles such as clinician-centred assessment, patho-anatomical reasoning, and technique specificity.

It is discussed how although these historical principles are not supported by current evidence, data from clinical trials does support the clinical and cost effectiveness of manual therapy as an intervention for musculoskeletal conditions, when used as part of a package of care.

In conclusion, it is proposed that a modern evidence-guided framework for the teaching and practice of manual therapy is needed, which avoids reference to and reliance on the outdated principles of traditional manual therapy. Instead, the framework should be based on three fundamental humanistic dimensions common in all aspects of healthcare: safety, comfort, and efficiency, elements that are contextualised by positive communication, a collaborative context, and person-centred care.

As always, we would love to hear what you think of the episode, so feel free to leave a comment and do please remember to click subscribe for Touch Matters Podcast, and leave us a review!

Does a day go by when you don't either see a "debate" occurring on socials, or even find yourself preparing to wade in on one side or another?  Especially in the world of massage and manual therapy, this seems to have become the norm and we at The Massage Collective certainly like to participate too!  But on reflection, what does this achieve?  What do we even think we're setting out to achieve?  And, like some recent papers in Science have questioned, is social media really the best way to be furthering scientific debate when limitations on characters exist and the algorithms involved intentionally limit your audience to those who already have skin in the game?  It certainly makes for an interesting discussion...

Social Media - now there's a mine field.  As massage therapists we're generally brilliant at what we do - massage!  We never trained in social media.  We've all got profiles on various platforms, but how do you ensure personal and business play nicely and convey the right messaging to potential clients?  Over to Katie Warburton, the ISRM's resident social media guru, soft tissue therapist, owner of Hands On Health (http://www.handsonhealthsheffield.com/) and all round super woman!

Katie takes us through her approach to social media, what she's learnt about what works and what doesn't, and how to avoid being "vanilla" whilst also retaining a professional feel to your content.  

If you're interested in finding out more about Katies course, drop her an email at: [email protected]

Yes, we're back!  After a bit of a break we're back in the "studio" with a new format.  We're now producing 3 pods a month, two short 15 minute sound-bites, ideal for lunch breaks, and one longer form because we just have too much to say! 

This month we're diving into Social Media for Massage Therapists, perhaps a bit of a departure from the norm for us but, as we explore in this first short episode, it plays a huge part in how we as therapists learn, grow and interact with both our clients and our colleagues.  Let us know what you think of the new format and we'll see you for the next one!

Greg quite literally wrote the course on reconciling biomechanics with modern pain science, and brings to MSK an unique blend of professional qualifications and scientific literacy that makes him an absolute gem!  So of course we jumped at the chance to have him on the podcast for a totally free flowing conversation.  So join us as Greg weaves through topics such as reconceptualising flare-ups of pain, the lack of consistency in sham testing in MSK research, how to discuss adaptability and being confident in the presence of pain.

Find more of Greg's content and blogs here, and in particular we highly recommend downloading and reading Greg's Recovery Strategies Pain Guidebook - a great front of house booklet for your clients!

A 3-day conference in San Diego, during a wet and miserable February back home in England?  Where do we sign up?!

Yes, Matt has managed to finagle his way to attending the 2022 San Diego Pain Summit - but what is it, and why is it such an important conference?  Rajam Roose, former massage therapist and founder and CEO of The San Diego Pain Summit, joins The Massage Collective to fill us in on the history of the summit - how it grew from the need for an event where participants could learn clinically relevant applications of pain research, how getting the first years Keynote speaker (Lorimer Moseley!) was a game changer, how the evening hot tubs and fire-pits result in amazing connections (we're looking at you Adam Meakins & Ben Cormack's Better Clinician Project!), plus how this years summit is shaping up to be the most interactive yet - whether you are there in person or joining online from the comfort of your sofa.

The back catalogue of talks hosted on the SDPS website is worth its weight in gold, but the aspect that makes this summit so unique is the opportunity for attendees and speakers to network and learn from each other in a relaxed atmosphere like no other.  We highly recommend joining the virtual conference!

You can contact Rajam and find out more here;

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Communication skills.  One of those "soft skills" that we often give no more than a fleeting thought to - until we realise we lack them in a given context.  And an aspect of clinical practice that is given almost no consideration or air-time in a large proportion of massage related courses.  So after such a strong response to Session 30's CPD focus, where communication skills were discussed as a valuable place to spend some development time, we reached out to one of the experts.  Alistair Beverley is known as The LD Physio because he specialises with working with populations with Learning Disabilities - be that in clinic, through his numerous voluntary roles, or as Head Physio for Team Special Olympics GB.  Passionate about improving the access to quality healthcare for this population, Alistair is on a mission to up-skill the communication skills of all health professionals using what he has learnt over the years.  This podcast episode dives into Ali's background, where he sees the challenges and his top tips for immediately improving the way therapists communicate with clients in clinic.  

As mentioned in the podcast, Alistair is hosting a webinar on the 27th of January at 1930 - A Broadbrush Overview 90 minutes covering the essentials of working with those who have a learning disability and how the skills transfer to mainstream practice.  For tickets and further information, use this LINK HERE

To find Alistair on social media: https://theldphysio.com/ 

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It's 2022, and rather than suggest all the new and exciting things we all aught to be doing as Therapists in this period of resolutions and "new year, new you" Becky and Matt provide some thoughts on CPD.  Continuing Professional Development (CE for our international colleagues) is such a ubiquitous term in massage therapy that it's intent, and what it entails has almost become lost in the rush to book onto courses and add new modalities to the toolbox.  

So taking a leaf from the excellent Jo Turners "You Matter" podcasts latest episode (which you should all go and listen to immediately after this one!) we explore what CPD is for, why we should do it, what counts as CPD, what the most important component of any CPD is, and why this time of year is the perfect time for some self-reflection and planning to inform your 2022 CPD choices

Psychologically Informed Practice - you might have come across the term, but what is it?   How can you start to apply it in clinic?  WHY should you start to apply it in clinic?  Daniel Arbilla is an Exercise Physiologist based in Sydney, Australia and visits the podcast to discuss all this and more with Anna Maria and Matt.     

From the similarities and differences between Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), to asking the question, "If someone is riding a horse and they think that it's a unicorn, are they still riding a horse?" this podcast explores how psychology is ever present in the clinical encounter and how our words and our behaviours can greatly impact the outcomes of a session.  

We really encourage you to explore more of Daniel's work with The Knowledge Exchange through their website and podcast;  https://tkex.org  

As well as joiningThe Knowledge Exchange Discussion Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/186929841940541  

To see more of what Daniel gets up to in his clinic you can find him on instagram and through the Barbell Psychology Website  

https://www.instagram.com/arbillaexercisephysiology  

https://www.barbellpsychology.com.au

Live from Therapy Live Sport 2021, Matt hosts Josh Mullin (PT Toolbox, https://www.pttoolbox.co.uk/, Southend Personal Trainer Academy, https://southendptacademy.co.uk/) as they discuss Why Every Clinic Needs A Personal Trainer.  Covering the similarities and differences between massage and PT disciplines, the challenges of quality education and evidence based practice in each industry, plus the benefits of closer collaboration between PT's and the broader MSK multidisciplinary team approach - this is a chat that will get you up and out, and inviting your local PT for a collaborative coffee!