As most patients know, I am frequently asked to teach the high-end soft tissue technique that I have mastered; Fascial Manipulation (FM). As powerful and effective as FM is, it is STILL little known by the general public….unless you have been a patient or have attended one of my lectures attempting to describe the basic theory. But, hundreds of manual therapists and physical therapists around the world are trying to learn how to master this work and I love to help them on that quest.
I was in Hong Kong three weeks ago working and teaching. That was my 4th trip there and, if you like cities, this is a city to experience. Personally, I prefer the open skies of Arizona and Nevada and Utah….and the clean desert air. But as cities go, HK is worth a visit.
My class was made up of a group of motivated physical therapists from the area and, thankfully, they were all very up to speed on medical history taking and diagnosis. This was a nice change from other classes that had therapists from ‘other’ areas (can’t name any) with lower study standards. I have been in classes where I spend most of my time teaching unqualified therapist the basics of musculoskeletal diagnosis, which made it harder to teach the intricacies of soft tissue work. This week in HK, however, was a breeze and the students left knowing how to evaluate deviations in movement and, from there, how to anticipate tension distortion within lines of muscle tone. It sounds complicated, but, once you get a feel for how the body maintains its tension balance, it becomes easy.
During my 6 days in China’s jewel, I was able to enjoy some of the best Asian food available on the planet. I also made friends with more students and passed on knowledge that they will be able to use in their professional practices once they go through the discomfort of practicing the techniques. This is the fun part, actually.
I have been asked to go back for another class in November, so I’ll have to write up a little summary of how that class goes. So, stay tuned!!