Stuck In the Quicksand of Inaction

I recently got a call from a former student who was flustered about his National Certification status. He was now a very qualified practitioner of cranial sacral therapy having thoroughly covered the fundamentals in my seven seminars which consisted of  30 hour each of massage continuing education courses over a two year period. And then this student went on to study for another year or more and spending close to an additional 5 grand with another prominent teacher of craniosacral therapy! But, when I asked him why he wasn’t practicing the cranial sacral work….the phone went mute. He then laughed nervously. Where had I failed in planting the seed of self confidence. How about the other instructor? And the foundational massage school, where had they gone astray in teaching the basics in promotion. Was it his fault at all, or just the mindset of the majority of people in this country when it comes to dealing with chronic pain issues?

I think in many ways its in the education of our population. Our jobs as teachers of massage continuing education is to give the student usable tools that have been proven and effective in dealing with many of the painful conditions that people suffer with and bring to our practice tables. And the techniques that are learned in the classes, will in many incidences deal with the pain and suffering that is inherent to the human machine. I believe its a failure of our medical system. In our society where pharmaceuticals and surgery are the predominant approach in dealing with chronic painful conditions, I think we are being short changed. There are many forms of manual medicine, if I may use the term medicine loosely without offending anyone, that are very effective in dealing with chronic challenges. And may of those methodologies are taught in massage therapy continuing education courses. But the populace expects “miracles”. I had a client who has been suffering for 14 years with tinnitus. Being a professional musician, you can imagine his frustration. He came to me for 3 sessions, about 3 hours of therapy, and won’t be returning because the tinnitus didn’t go away and he can’t afford to continue. Cranial sacral therapy has been proven to be effective in some cases of tinnitus, but three hours of pain therapy is hardly enough. Although, I have had clients that were”healed” in less than three. 

The entire medical model with 3rd party insurance needs to be revamped and scrutinized. Let me give you an example. I have a college degree, and a certification form a college of manual medicine. It was a 18 month 1,000 hour course. Since that time I have spent an additional 60,000 on my education. I am state licensed, Nationally certified, I am a provider for massage continuing education for that  Nationally Certifying Board. I have a business license, and I have survived without third party insurance for 22 years based on word of mouth advertising which is good enough for me to prove the efficacy of what I do. An MRI can cost from 1200-3,000 dollars often offering no information, but costing us a bundle economically. If I was given the luxury of 10-30 sessions(equal cost to the MRI) I bet you I could save the insurance companies money and ultimately the citizens do to the efficacy of what I do. Alas, all that education, certifications, and licensure are a mere facade evidently. Because the AMA, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical giants are unwilling to share the economic stream with those of us who are helping millions just using our hands..we are the borderland nomads of manual medicine. 

So, we didn’t fail the students who came to us for massage continuing education, our medical system’s short sided greediness is responsible. And as a result many people with chronic pain issues with continue to suffer.