Build A Practice Your Clients Can’t Stop Talking About — By Dissolving Pain Right At The Source

Course 2 | CE Hours: 28

Focus: Scapular positioning is a term that we use to talk about the normal or at rest position of the scapula. The scapular stabilizer muscles exist in a carefully orchestrated relationship. Ideally, these muscles will each be at a relatively normal resting length, however it is very common for some fibers to become chronically shortened, and their antagonists to defacilitate and exist in some degree of stretch at all times.

This relationship determines our shoulder posture. Many factors can influence this group of muscles and cause distorted posture. Excessive protraction is very common, also called rounded shoulder posture.

At the Coaching the Body Institute, we've developed a scapular positioning treatment approach using the Muscle Liberator™ tool that can be completed typically in 45 minutes or less - sometimes much less. This is an extremely valuable treatment, because improper positioning of the scapula can in turn trigger dysfunction and pain in many other muscles.

Our treatment is easy to understand, because it analyzes fiber directions and classifies the stabilizers into easily remembered groups of agonist and antagonist. We get fantastic results with this treatment, and it represents a core part of any therapist's arsenal in treating shoulder pain.

Module 1: Introduction to the CTB™ Approach and Scapular Positioning

Module 2: Trigger Point Physiology

Module 3: Low Trapezius

Module 4: Pectoralis Minor

Module 5: Clavicular, Sternal & Costal Pectoralis Major

Course 3 | CE Hours: 16

Learn how to address all of the common types of lower body pain quickly and completely - even in severe pain situations that have been failed by multiple practitioners. Hip pain, "sciatica", IT band dysfunction, low back pain... these are very common complaints that are largely misunderstood by manual therapy professionals and their clients. People are told to "roll their IT band" and other useless treatments that fail to provide any real relief, because these approaches fail to recognize the true sources of the pain.

This course establishes the foundation of the CTB Core Lower Body Protocol, focusing on the key techniques that are used to work with muscles of the lower body. We emphasize the use of Handsfree-style techniques in this area of the body, because they are very efficient for the practitioner and also very effective therapeutic techniques for the client. The lower body is much more technique-intensive than the upper body, so we will focus on refining the techniques as we present the lower body protocol.

Topics we focus on:

Sciatic Pain, Self-Care for Sciatic Pain

The Gluteus Minimus, The Gluteus Maximus, The Gluteus Medius

Adductor Longus, Adductor Magnus

Quadratus Lumborum

Longissimus

Deep Spinal Erectors

Sciatic Pain Perpetuators

Hip and Sciatic Pain Protocol

Course 4 | CE Hours: 15 (in process)

Has knee pain been baffling and are you finding it difficult and slow to fully resolve in your clients?

Knee pain is a mystery to most practitioners, who fail to understand the huge contribution of trigger points in muscles to this type of pain. This course covers the CTB approach to knee pain. Nearly all knee pain has a myofascial component, even in the presence of joint damage, inflammation and fluid.Many knee pain cases are entirely muscular. Most of the muscles of the thigh have a capacity to send referred pain to the area of the knee.There is a complex interaction between the muscles that cross the knee joint and conditions within the joint.

When the quadriceps and hamstrings shorten and become tight, they have a tendency to reduce available joint space and cause increased pressure on the meniscus or patellar track. This produces inflammation, and may lead to tears and damage in connective tissue.

Conversely, the quadriceps and hamstrings tend to develop trigger points in the presence of proprioceptive danger signals coming from the joint. This is due to the body's tendency to use taut fibers to splint the joint to stabilize it. Unfortunately this leads to more pain and more pressure on the joint, so a vicious cycle ensues.

We can often have a very beneficial effect on knee pain by intervening with muscular work. This interrupts the vicious cycle and reduces the referred pain component, which is often the vast majority of the pain experienced.

Course 5 | CE Hours: 12 (in process)

This course covers the more advanced aspects of sciatica, hip, thigh and groin pain. There are many opportunities for pain referral and nerve entrapment in the pelvis as well as interlocking referral patterns. We cover some of the more advanced muscles involved in this pain area, including the deep rotators of the hip, piriformis, advanced hamstring topics and iliopsoas.

Trigger points in this pain area may lead to diagnoses such as torn meniscus, arthritis, trochanteric bursits, sciatica, and knee and hip joint degeneration as a way to explain the patient's pain. Unfortunately, these diagnoses are often made without sufficient clinical evidence and then lead to procedures that have permanent and damaging consequences, or at best are ineffective.

Hip pain, sciatica, knee pain, IT band dysfunction, groin pain... these are very common complaints that are largely misunderstood by professionals and their clients. People are told to "roll their IT band" and other useless or invasive treatments that fail to provide any real relief, because these approaches fail to recognize the true sources of the pain? Bodyworkers who understand the network of 24 muscles that can cause pain referral in these areas can have high rates of success, and provide treatments and resolve perpetuating factors in a way that truly and permanently addresses these problems.

Chuck Duff's Coacing The Body® approach is a unique integration of the best techniques of traditional Thai massage with a deep understanding of trigger point therapy, including common perpetuating factors that set muscles up for dysfunction. Because Chuck has spent years developing the best and most efficient techniques for each muscle, including an extensive repertoire of HandsFree Thai that he has compiled, there is no better modality for dealing with dysfunction in the large muscles of the hips and legs.

Course 6 | CE Hours: 15

The effects of daily migraines on a person's life are truly devastating. We've seen many clients with daily head and neck pain for decades, having been through pain clinics, painkillers and other treatments with no success experience a significant improvement or complete resolution of their pain when treated with CTB techniques.

While not all headaches are due to muscular causes, dysfunctional muscles contribute pain in nearly all -- and can be easily influenced, if not remediated using CTB techniques. Successfully dealing with chronic headaches requires a multi-pronged approach involving manual therapy, analysis of posture, correction of dysfunctional breathing, looking at spinal curvature and other synergistic factors that we cover in this course.

One of our great frustrations is that trigger points are a "lost secret" in our medical system - discovered by doctors, but often not covered in medical and dental schools. Dentists should know something about trigger points because facial muscles can cause pain in the teeth that could easily be mistaken for problems requiring dental intervention. Yet one of Chuck’s most serious headache cases was an orthodontist who as he was being treated, realized that he actually owned the Travell and Simons books, but had suffered with daily headaches for over 20 years.

Course 7 | CE Hours: 16

Learn to resolve challenging foot and ankle pain cases using the state of the art techniques of Coaching The Body® (CTB), a revolutionary modality developed by your expert instructor, Chuck Duff. Chuck originated and taught the first CTB class in 2005. CTB integrates Travell & Simons trigger point therapy with traditional Thai techniques and other approaches, and is focused on restoring muscle health as well as quality and range of joint movement.

Foot and ankle pain is a key area, because it influences gait, posture and has a dramatic effect on muscles and pain throughout the body. This is a very rich and important pain area that is addressed very completely in the Coaching The Body® system. This course is packed with key information about topics in analysis and treatment, the poorly understood phenomenon of hyperpronation, and regional anatomy..

Foot and lower leg pain can be debilitating and severe, and can cause other problems up the kinetic chain due to disturbed gait. Foot and ankle pain is an area in which CTB techniques can have some of the most profound benefits. You will learn to address pain and limited movement following breaks and sprains, plantar fasciitis, ankle pain, calf pain and tenderness, rigid ankles, big toe pain and more, as well as learning to address chronic conditions such as hyperpronation and hammer toe.

Help Your Clients Regain Normal Movement Patterns

This is one of Chuck's favorite treatment areas because change can be so fast and dramatic - sometimes eliminating pain in a single session. Restoring normal ankle movement brings with it the incredible benefits associated with returning to normal patterns of walking, exercise, sports and other activities. Exercise and fluid movement in daily activity has a a dramatic positive impact upon overall health

Course 8 | CE Hours: 18

Learn to analyze and treat some of the most debilitating pain conditions like a star - using a unique and disruptive modality that is making waves in the bodywork world.

Low back pain is an extremely common and disturbing condition that is also becoming more prevalent with each passing year. Over 30% of adults report low back pain, and of those a significant number reported that it disturbed work, exercise and/or sleep. 9 out of 10 individuals never find the cause of their low back pain. This is because the vast majority of pain in general is caused by muscles and trigger points, yet this information remains largely unrecognized by the medical profession.

CTB for Low Back, Gluteal and Pelvic Pain gets to the true roots of these pain complaints and shows you in depth how to assess and treat each of the muscles that are potentially involved.

Intrapelvic pain is a debilitating and frightening condition that can dramatically There is nothing like this available anywhere in the bodywork world. Not only has Chuck thoroughly analyzed the muscles relevant to a specific pain complaint, through years of experimentation he's come up with a short list of the best techniques for each muscle. Most importantly, you will learn a protocol for quickly uncovering and addressing the true sources of this pain withing a single session, including satellite referral patterns and perpetuating factors. This knowledge is worth its weight in gold for a bodyworker.

Course 9 | CE Hours: 14

If you have ever struggled to relieve your clients’ pain between the shoulder blades, chest pain, spots of pain that appear in both the back and the front or abdominal pain, this course will make you a master therapist in these areas.

The abdominal area plays a significant role in many upper body symptoms. As one common example, dysfunctional breathers who fail to properly employ the diaphragm in normal breathing are subject to a host of secondary issues due to smaller muscles being overloaded, postural collapse, blood chemistry changes and emotional stress. These lead to some of the most common pain complaints that we see, such as so-called carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder pain including frozen shoulder, headaches, and chronic mid and upper back pain.

In the abdominal area, trigger points in abdominal muscles can cause diverse and surprising symptoms, such as IBD, colitis, severe menstrual cramps, nausea, indigestion, urinary and reproductive issues, diarrhea, intrapelvic pain and more.

Learn to Treat Many Serious Pain Complaints
In this thorough online course consisting of 14 hours of video lectures, demonstrations and downloadable materials, you will learn not only the specific behavior of the individual muscles contributing to this pain area, but how to follow the perpetuation chains that are so critical. There is nothing like this available anywhere in the bodywork world. Not only has Chuck Duff thoroughly analyzed the muscles relevant to a specific pain complaint - through years of experimentation, he's come up with a short list of the best techniques for each muscle. This knowledge is worth its weight in gold for a bodyworker.

Course 10 | CE Hours: 14

This course covers specific, detailed Coaching The Body® treatments for elbow, forearm, wrist and hand pain. We cover pain conditions involved in diagnoses such as tennis and golf elbow, lateral epicondylitis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, cervical radiculopathy, thoracic outlet syndrome, and more. Many diagnosed "conditions" often are actually the result of myofascial trigger point referral and can easily be treated using CTB techniques.

Clients presenting with forearm and hand pain, numbness, weakness, loss of coordination, tingling, limited ROM and other symptoms are often excellent candidates for the CTB approach. These symptoms are often caused by trigger points, and the therapist must learn to follow symptoms cascading from long upstream referral chains from muscles in the back and shoulder.

Hand and forearm pain is one of the most difficult areas to understand, due to the large number and complex arrangement of the 32+ muscles in this area. It's critical to be able to prioritize the most important muscles and treat them efficiently without getting bogged down in areas that aren't relevant. This amazing online resource is like an encyclopedia of the anatomy, indications, trigger point locations, best treatment techniques, inter-muscular relationships, and more, broken down by area and muscle. Once you enroll, you have lifetime access and can stream the material on any of your devices as you practice or prior to treatments.