- The level of education. Professional Manual Therapists are trained in either Naprapathic, Osteopathic, Physical Therapy, or Sports Therapy tradition. I am trained to be a Naprapathic Doctor, but it is only licensed in two or three states in the U.S. I have 2400 hours of training (4 years at Blue Heron Academy) and 25 years of experience. Manual therapy employs tactile assessment, body mapping, soft tissue structure assessment, deep tissue folding, and only liniment to warm the tissue before treatment. Massage therapists in MI require only 6 months of training.
- We don’t use oil as “part of” the treatment, just a dry hand that grasps or compresses the tissue that feels fair better than superficial massage.
- We do not use effleurage, tapotement, percussion, or our fingertips, thumb tips, or elbows with oil on a nude body. Massage therapists use oil the whole time and use all of those massage techniques. If they try to go deep with oil, they will hurt you. Don’t let them do it.
- Manual therapists use some type of heat lamp to focus on the area of treatment and a stool to sit on. We also have our tables very low because we’re not standing most of the time.
- Manual therapists use draping for modesty. Massage therapists have their table pretty high and stand most of the time, and I’m not sure what they do for draping.
- As a manual therapist, I can work until I’m 70 years old or more. There is no burn-out, and my hands never hurt. My techniques are healthy for my body. Massage therapists burn out at about nine years and sometimes don’t recover from poor technique taught to them by their schools.
- Manual therapists are allied healthcare professionals who are usually independent.
- Ideally, a manual therapist will take plenty of time releasing all the adhesions first and getting the blood flowing. That should help free up the spine that is very rigid in these patients.
- In accord with that, the manual therapist will do a Naprapathic bony lever on the spine to help straighten it again. It is not an adjustment.
- Manual therapy is a very effective healthcare treatment that helps you get better and can cure the problem. Massage therapy is touch therapy and entertainment massage that can and does cross professional body boundaries. It tends to be the most popular with the public, but statistics show that it is changing. Some massage therapy offices pose as healthcare, but they are prostitution massage; especially in West Michigan. Not all, though, of course.
- Manual therapy makes a real and lasting change in the deep soft tissue structures at the joint complex. Massage therapy is superficial and only treats the epidermis. If they do go deep with oil, it can really hurt or make the problem worse. I never hurt people when I go deep.
- Healers have succeeded in healing themselves and are serving as good examples to their patients and students. We don’t heal others, but I do offer Reiki for alignment. We show patients how to heal themselves if they are willing to do the work. It’s empowering vs. co-dependent.
Deep Tissue Therapy & Reiki Grand Rapids 