No matter if you are studying to become a remedial massage therapist or if you’ve practised massage professionally, CPE courses are a good way to keep you updated on the skills and techniques in the industry. Not only that, this shows your commitment towards your craft and helps earn and maintain a client’s trust.
Even if you choose to niche down your client base or specialise in a specific area of the body, the more courses you take, the more knowledge you obtain and this will enable you to combine a variety of techniques. What this means is you can deliver the best results to your clients and you can turn your techniques into an exclusive treatment.
Here are 10 CPE courses that are most relevant to the general population:
1) Dry Needling
This technique is used to deactivate trigger points through the insertion of fine, solid filament needles. A great tool to have in your toolbox as it is effective and is easy on your body in the long term.
2) Remedial Hot Stone
The heated stones allow access to deeper muscle layers which can release tension quicker than a standard massage and is also low impact on your body. Especially useful during the winter time!
3) Myofascial cupping
This technique creates a suction on the skin, pulling upwards the underlying tissues, blood, fascia closest to the surface of the skin. The cups are either placed on tender spots or they are glided around a bigger area of tension.
4) IASTM (short for Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization tools)/Gua Sha
These tools are effective in stimulating nerve ending activity and enhances the dermatome response to massage techniques used in the treatment.
5) Thai massage
This technique is also known as passive yoga. Through compressing and stretching the shortened muscle, we can increase the client’s range of motion. A hot herbal compress may be integrated into this treatment to
6) Electrotherapy therapy
This technique uses electrical currents either via the skin and via dry needles to provide pain relief or recovery for various musculoskeletal or neuromuscular conditions.
7) TMJ disorders
Our training as a remedial massage therapist often stops at the cervical spine, but modern people commonly present with headaches, jaw and face pain. Learning more about the orofacial and TMJ anatomy, biomechanics and neurophysiology allows us to identify TMJ disorders, prescribe exercises and perform soft tissue techniques.
8) Pregnancy and post-natal massage
This particular style has specialised massage techniques that accommodates the changes that a mother’s body undergoes every trimester while providing the same benefits and therapeutic effects of a standard massage.
9) Oncology massage
This is a specialised massage technique that adapts to the client’s current state of health. This massage style is gentle and slow to induce deep relaxation in the body which also helps to calm the mind.
10) Manual Lymphatic Drainage
This is a specialised massage technique that stimulates the circulation of lymph fluid around the body. It helps to speed up the removal of wastes and toxins from a sluggish lymphatic system, which is recommended for the prevention of swelling after injury or surgery.