Ep 534 – Massage Therapy and Physical Therapy: An Integrated Environment
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
Release Date: 10/21/2025
Ep 562 – Palpation: The Art of Recognizing the Tissues We Touch
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
As massage therapists, we use our sense of touch every day, but how do we know what we are feeling with our hands? Nicole Trombley and Rachelle Clauson break down the art of recognizing the tissues we touch by examining what palpation is, exploring how our hands are perfectly equipped for the task, and discussing the “touch dialogue” that starts from the very first contact. Resources: LAB COURSE: Journey into the MATRIX for more information about “Journey Into the MATRIX: the Fascial System” dissection lab workshop. LAB COURSE: Dissection Lab Intensive for more information...
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Ep 561 – Levels of Awareness: “Fully Booked” with Elicia Crook
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
In this episode of Fully Booked, Elicia breaks down how understanding your audience can completely transform the way you market your clinic, attract clients, and fill your schedule with less effort. When you know exactly who you’re speaking to, your messaging becomes clearer, your content resonates, and booking starts to feel natural instead of forced. Elicia explores the four levels of client awareness, from those who don’t even realize they need help to those actively searching for solutions. Host: Elicia Crook is a business coach and mentor for massage therapists, sharing the tactics...
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Ep 560 – The Power of Listening in Bodywork with Ricky Williams
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
Ricky Williams joins The ABMP Podcast to share his journey from elite athlete to lifelong student of healing. After experiencing the power of massage therapy early in his football career, Ricky began exploring craniosacral therapy and other modalities as a path toward true wholeness—physically, emotionally, and mentally. In this conversation, he discusses the connection between performance and healing, the role of listening and curiosity in bodywork, and how subtle, hands-on work can unlock profound change. Ricky also reflects on his ongoing mission to bridge the gap between professional...
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Ep 559 – Skull Fractures and Failures in Communication: “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
A client asks for a specific technique on their face. They have a bad reaction. Then they say they didn’t want work in that area anyway, and by the way, they had a skull fracture four years ago. Now they’re leaving because they feel a migraine coming on. The therapist is left wondering what just happened. In this episode of I Have a Client Who . . ., Ruth unpacks this interaction, what may have been going on for the client and their bones, and takes a closer look at where things started to break down. Has this ever happened to you? You’re not alone. Resources: Cheatham,...
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Ep 558 – Rebooking with Confidence: “Fully Booked” with Elicia Crook
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
You can be doing everything right—your marketing is working, your systems are in place, and clients are coming in—yet your calendar still ends up with unexpected gaps. In this episode of Fully Booked, Elicia breaks down why rebooking is the key to consistency and how to stop constantly chasing new clients. Host: Elicia Crook is a business coach and mentor for massage therapists, sharing the tactics she used to create her business success over 16 years. She is a diploma-qualified remedial massage therapist, using modalities such as Bowen and craniosacral therapy, and has a Cert IV...
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Ep 557 – The Back: A Conversation: “The Rebel MT” with Allison Denney
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
No, I am not sharing a deep conversation I had with a colleague on the back and all its complexities for this episode. I am, however, highlighting that the back, any back, at any moment, is having thousands of conversations. All the time. Our back routines are not just the warmup. They are so much more. If we are listening. Also - neuroplasticity is SO COOL. Host Bio: Contact Allison Denney: Allison’s website: Allison Denney is a certified massage therapist and certified YouTuber. You can find...
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Ep 556 – Manual Digital Imaging: What Palpation Reveals with Doug Nelson
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
In this episode of The ABMP Podcast, Doug Nelson explores the parallels between manual palpation and digital imaging such as MRI. Both methods can reveal important information about what is happening in the body, but they also share an important limitation: they can show what is present, but they cannot always explain how it got there. Host: Douglas Nelson is Board Certified in Massage Therapy and Therapeutic Bodywork, beginning his career in massage therapy in 1977. Seeing over 1,200 client visits annually for decades, he is also the owner of BodyWork Associates, a massage...
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Ep 555 – All About Mechanics: “Fully Booked” with Elicia Crook
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
Running a successful massage practice is not just about the work you do with clients. It is also about the systems behind the scenes that keep everything running smoothly. In this episode of Fully Booked, Elicia explores mechanics: the systems and back-end processes that help your business operate efficiently, consistently, and without unnecessary chaos. When your workflows are clear and repeatable, you spend less time scrambling to remember what comes next and more time focusing on the work that actually grows your practice. Host: Elicia Crook is a business coach and mentor for massage...
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Ep 554 – Exploring Aging with Kristin Coverly
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
Join Kristin Coverly as she explores the aging process and chats with guests (and instructors at the upcoming ABMP CE Summit: Aging Clients) Dawn Castiglione and Sheila Alexander about their passion for working with older clients and the joy that it brings them. Resources: ABMP Education Center: ABMP CE Summit: Aging Clients Event: Host: Kristin Coverly, LMT is a massage therapist, educator, and the director of professional education at ABMP. She loves creating continuing education courses, events, and resources to support massage therapists and bodyworkers as they enhance their lives...
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Ep 553 – Herpes Simplex 2026: “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner
The ABMP Podcast | Speaking With the Massage & Bodywork Profession
A school administrator and massage therapist wants guidance on how to respond to a student who is reluctant to work with clinic clients who report a history of herpes. Is this a significant risk for massage therapists? The reality is that anyone with a history of herpes simplex can shed the virus intermittently, even without visible symptoms. However, the risk to massage therapists who follow proper hygiene and self-care protocols is extremely low. In that sense, herpes falls into the same category as other infections that may be transmitted through direct contact but are effectively managed...
info_outlineIn this episode of The ABMP Podcast, Darren and Kristin are joined by Doug Nelson to discuss how collaboration between MTs and PTs can accelerate client outcomes and strengthen the continuum of care. Doug shares how to navigate professional boundaries, build effective communication systems, and offers practical advice for massage therapists looking to establish stronger referral relationships as well as the importance of a shared language between disciplines.
Resources:
Douglas Nelson is Board Certified in Massage Therapy and Therapeutic Bodywork, beginning his career in massage therapy in 1977. Seeing over 1,200 client visits annually for decades, he is also the owner of BodyWork Associates, a massage therapy clinic in Champaign, IL. with 21 therapists that was established in 1982.
He is the founder of NMT MidWest, Inc., providing training in Precision Neuromuscular Therapy™ across the USA. He has personally taught more than 13,000 hours of continuing education and is the author of three books. Doug is a past president of the Massage Therapy Foundation.
Hosts:
Darren Buford is senior director of communications and editor-in-chief for ABMP. He is editor of Massage & Bodywork magazine and has worked for ABMP for 22 years, and been involved in journalism at the association, trade, and consumer levels for 24 years. He has served as board member and president of the Western Publishing Association, as well as board member for Association Media & Publishing. Contact him at editor@abmp.com.
Kristin Coverly, LMT is a massage therapist, educator, and the director of professional education at ABMP. She loves creating continuing education courses, events, and resources to support massage therapists and bodyworkers as they enhance their lives and practices. Contact her at ce@abmp.com.
Sponsors:
Anatomy Trains: www.anatomytrains.com
Anatomy Trains is a global leader in online anatomy education and also provides in-classroom certification programs for structural integration in the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan, and China, as well as fresh-tissue cadaver dissection labs and weekend courses. The work of Anatomy Trains originated with founder Tom Myers, who mapped the human body into 13 myofascial meridians in his original book, currently in its fourth edition and translated into 12 languages. The principles of Anatomy Trains are used by osteopaths, physical therapists, bodyworkers, massage therapists, personal trainers, yoga, Pilates, Gyrotonics, and other body-minded manual therapists and movement professionals. Anatomy Trains inspires these practitioners to work with holistic anatomy in treating system-wide patterns to provide improved client outcomes in terms of structure and function.
Website: anatomytrains.com
Email: info@anatomytrains.com
Facebook: facebook.com/AnatomyTrains
Instagram: www.instagram.com/anatomytrainsofficial
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2g6TOEFrX4b-CigknssKHA