Thai Massage Professional

Course Content

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.

Assessment and Professional Qualification

Assessment includes a practical test and theory paper on an additional assessment day about one month after day 12 of the course, (date to be confirmed). Students must also complete 30 case-studies in their own time plus practice and home-study.

The course is externally assessed by the UK Oriental Medicine Association for Professional Practitioners, leading to a widely-recognized professional Diploma in Thai Massage.

Students will qualify for automatic membership to the UK Oriental Medicine register as a Thai Massage practitioner and are eligible for a comprehensive professional insurance scheme which also includes student insurance during the course.

The Diploma is also recognized by the Complementary Therapists Association (CThA) which is part of Embody, the Massage Training Institute (MTI) and the British Complementary Medicine Association (BCMA). Current members are asked to submit their Diploma to professionally practice Thai Massage and apply for CPD points.

Duration

The 12-day practitioner course leads to a Diploma enabling you to professionally practice as a Thai Massage therapist. The course runs in Bristol and comprises of four 3-day blocks over 6 months with an additional assessment day.

Bristol dates:

18,19 20 September 2010

23,24,25 October 2010

27,28,29 November 2010

29,30,31 January 2011