Stay up to date with the Articles of the Week from around the internet on massage therapy plus helpful articles written by MTDC staff and contributors.
Podcasts
Our podcast is updated frequently with the latest news in massage therapy
Trauma Across The Lifespan
"It's not a mechanical problem. It's a biological debt." Why do some patients plateau despite perfect manual technique? In this episode, Jamie Johnston dives into the structural and neurological changes that trauma leaves in the body—long after the distressing event has passed. We move past the philosophy of trauma-informed care and get into the hard science: how childhood trauma alters gene expression (Epigenetics), why adulthood stress creates a "physiological overdraft" (Allostatic Load), ...
What Trauma Actually Does To The Nervous System
"It's not an attitude problem. It's a nervous system response." Have you ever had a patient who seems "jumpy," constantly guarded, or simply fails to respond to treatment despite your best manual techniques? In this episode, Jamie Johnston breaks down why these "complex" cases often have nothing to do with physical tissue issues and everything to do with a nervous system stuck in protection mode. We explore the anatomy of the survival brain—the Brain Stem, the Limbic System, and the Prefronta...
Why Therapeutic Movement Matters More Than Your Favourite Modality
"If you move, your disc will bulge." "Your pelvis is out of alignment." As massage therapists, we often use language intended to help, but we might actually be planting seeds of fear. This fear of movement, or kinesophobia, is one of the biggest drivers of long-term disability. If you find yourself constantly adding new manual modalities to your toolkit because your persistent pain patients aren't getting better, it’s time to challenge the idea that another technique is the answer. In this ep...
Why You're Confused About Trauma (And What Actually Matters)
"How do I treat PTSD differently than childhood abuse?" If you have ever asked this question in an RMT group, you aren’t alone—but you might be focusing on the wrong thing. In our profession, we’ve been taught to categorize trauma into boxes: combat, medical, sexual, or relational. This categorization often leads to "analysis paralysis," leaving therapists second-guessing every word and touch. In this episode, Jamie Johnston breaks down why the source of the trauma matters much less than the ...
Movement as Education: Stop Treating Symptoms, Start Changing Stories
"I’ve tried every technique and every modality, but they’re still not getting better." If you’ve ever felt this frustration, you aren’t alone. When a patient is stuck in a cycle of persistent pain, our instinct as massage therapists is to chase the next certification or find a "magic" hands-on tool. But what if the problem isn’t your toolkit? What if the problem is the patient's belief that their body is broken—and the solution is showing them otherwise? In this episode, Jamie Johnston breaks...
Confident Conversations: How Massage Therapists Talk About Mental Health and Keep Boundaries
"I'm not a psychologist. I should just stay in my lane, right?" As massage therapists, we are often told to refer out the moment a patient mentions mental health struggles. But what happens when that referral is the very thing that makes a patient feel dismissed? What if "staying in our lane" actually sabotages their physical recovery? In this episode, Jamie draws on his experience as both a massage therapist and a firefighter to explain why you are uniquely positioned to help patients in cri...
The 3 Types of Movement Every Massage Therapist Should Be Using
"But Jamie, I’m not a personal trainer. I don’t even have a gym in my clinic!" If you’ve ever felt like movement-based therapy is "out of scope" or requires fancy equipment, this episode is for you. Many of us were taught that our value lies solely in what we do to a patient on the table. But when we rely only on passive techniques, we miss the most powerful tool for building long-term resilience: Movement. In this episode, we’re debunking the myth that you need a CSCS certification to use ex...
Teach-Back: the single habit that boosts adherence and reduces burnout
"I did the work, gave them the stretches, and they still came back two weeks later with no improvement." If that sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. Most massage therapists respond to "difficult" cases by chasing more certifications and better manual techniques. But what if the lack of progress has nothing to do with your hands, and everything to do with the gap between what you say and what your patient actually hears? In this episode, we’re breaking down why communication isn't a "soft skill...
That "research anxiety" you feel isn't burnout—it's Allostasis in action
Have you ever scrolled through social media, seen a post about "pain science" or "evidence-based practice," and felt an immediate surge of defensiveness? Like everything you spent thousands of dollars and years of school to learn was being called a lie? In this episode, we’re getting vulnerable about the professional "identity crisis" that many therapists face. I share my own journey from being a modality-driven therapist who wanted to "hammer muscles and tear shit up" to someone who felt per...
How Massage Therapists achieve better treatment outcomes without worrying about overstepping their scope
Are you a massage therapist who feels in over your head or finds yourself avoiding crucial conversations about mental health with your patients? You don't have to keep feeling that way. In this powerful episode, we tackle the reality that your patients often carry more than just physical pain. We introduce a systematic and compassionate approach to navigating mental health discussions right in your treatment room—a method that is designed to build trust, honour professional boundaries, and si...
Are You Accidentally Harming Your Clients by "Staying In Scope"?
Have you ever frozen mid-massage because a patient opened up about something heavy—trauma, grief, or deep anxiety—and you had no idea how to respond? In this raw and honest episode,I share the story I rarely like to tell: the day I completely failed a patient after he shared a horrifying moment from his past. I unpack a cringeworthy mistake I made—centering myself in his trauma—and explain why the conventional advice to keep "mental health out of your scope" is actually causing harm to both y...
Episode #29 Dealing With Burnout
I think we've all seen changes in the past couple of years with the pandemic and other things going on. For the both of us, we experienced a significant amount of burnout, so we thought we'd share our stories as we're sure we aren't alone in the experience. And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails: jamie@themtdc.com hello@ericpurves.com
Episode #28 With Great Educational Power, Comes Great Educational Responsibility
Education, education, education. We constantly promote a better education for Massage Therapists and as those who teach continuing education courses we have a lot of responsibility to keep current with new evidence and research. And so do our associations. Our associations wield some great power in what can and is offered to their perspective memberships for continuing education. But are they all handling their responsibility well? If not, their members should demand better. ...
Episode #27 Myofascial Release And CLB, What Does The Evidence Say?
As massage therapists, we often rely on learning new modalities or rely on many of the ones we learned in college as a way to help our patients. But does it really matter which modality we use? There are so many other factors that contribute to better outcomes when people come to see us, the modality we use while the person receives treatment matters less than we've been lead to believe. Let's start to worry less about learning new ways to touch people and start focusing on what we can do ...
Episode #26 The Biopsychosocial 40 Years Later
In this episode we discuss some of the advances, changes, and recommendations that have taken place since the biopsychosocial framework was introduced 40 years ago. This is one of the many things we discuss in our upcoming courses along with therapeutic movement and rehab. These courses can be taken in person, or online so please click the link below and join us in October! REGISTER HERE And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails:&nb...
Episode #25 Making Sure Your Continuing Education is Evidence Based
In this episode we discuss the buzzwords circling around our continuing education and how you can interpret and decide whether the course you're taking is evidence based. And as always, check out our websites. www.themtdc.com www.ericpurves.com and our emails: jamie@themtdc.com hello@ericpurves.com
Articles
Our fitness blog is updated weekly with the latest news in massage therapy
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