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When I first qualified 30 years ago, like many just starting out, I had a little impostor syndrome. I would ask myself – do I know enough? As new patients arrived there would be huge butterflies in my tummy. 

I hadn’t expected it, but this sense of being an imposter started to lessen as I found my place within the practice – treating people with long term chronic pain. I was finding I could help people who had struggled to find help elsewhere, with anything from back pain and shoulder issues to long-standing neck pain. This was going so well that I started to develop a reputation for being the person to see when noone else could help.

It was from this point curiosity kicked in. I had started to see how I could help people, and now I wanted to know more. I have always questioned the way things are the way they are, and this curiosity was key to my developing practice. 

As I started to seek more information, some key books I read were:

Atlas of Human Anatomy by Frank Netter

Leon Chaitow’s Positional Release and Muscle Energy Technique manuals 

Rene Cailliet’s series on pain and soft tissue

Where does curiosity come from? 

For me, it came from a deep sense of needing courage to find the right teacher, the right books to build and deepen my knowledge of anatomy and physiology, to gain the ability to treat all sorts of conditions and people in long term pain states.

Soon into this journey I found Tom Hendrickson with his own eponymous method, The Hendrickson Method, and embarked on a three-year journey to fly out to San Francisco three times a year to complete the training with him.

Whilst training with Tom there was a comfortable realisation that the journey to deepen our knowledge of anatomy and physiology is never ending. It then gave me the confidence to be curious again. Question why a condition was the way it was, why the injuries are the way they are. The confidence to question and be curious about other people’s opinions and diagnosis.

Knowing that courage and curiosity go hand in hand, as I continued the work I discovered Gary Carter’s Natural Bodies, and fascia focused anatomy approach. The Noigroup gave me a deeper understanding of neurological processes within pain patterns, looking at how we can enable the people we treat to create change and acceptance.

It took courage and curiosity to say yes when invited to teach both by the Northern Institute of Massage and my professional body the LCSP.

When I began teaching, impostor syndrome naturally struck again, and I had to find courage to stand in front of a class and own “this is what I know, this is what I think, this is what I feel”. It was worth it to start sharing what I had learnt so far, whether it was positional release muscle energy technique or Tom Hendrickson’s method.

The curiosity kicked in again – this time I was questioning how do adults learn? Was their experience of education healthy and empowering – or was it a little like mine, that had been a struggle and diminishing until I found out I was dyslexic. 

I began to see that some people are visual learners, some people a learn by feel, some people learn by seeing a demonstration then feeling it. Some people see the demonstration immediately and have to practice it. I began creating space in the classroom so that everybody could learn on their own terms, to empower them to embed the knowledge within themselves to enhance their practise

Most recently, it was one of my patients that encouraged me to reflect on my own curiosity and courage. This patient is now into their 80th decade and has osteoporosis, MS and has recently had heart surgery. 

One day she turned up as we were piling out of the church after a Pilates class asking me she could join in. At that time she was in a motorised scooter and was barely able to stand. Jose was curious whether the Pilates would help her to gain a little strength and a little more coordination and help her move a little more. I was both curious and needed to be courageous to invite her to a little 1-2-1 session after next week’s class.

Jose came full of curiosity and courage – wondering whether she could create the movement, and have enough in her to give it a go . Jose comes to class each week and occasionally comes to the clinic to use my spring wall for one to one.

It was that one of these one to ones I asked her what kept her going, as conversation with Jose is always interesting and lively. Jose replied, the courage to be always curious and I smiled and said I had been thinking very much the same way about myself on my journey as a therapist.

We also chatted about the courage needed to know things may not always work out how we imagined and be okay with that, and the curiosity needed to have the confidence in knowing there will always be unique ways of seeing and being.

We agreed that these things are what keeps us lively as we progress through the decades, that have kept our humour and our ability to see the whole of the world, not through a small tunnel. Courage and curiosity are something that we encourage within our practice when we’re working with those learning to live with a condition that will last for a lifetime. We need them to investigate ways of living well, and have the courage to make changes and do things differently. And most of all to try to have fun with it, safe and secure in the knowledge that things might not always work out the way they thought we would – but with courage and curiosity we can keep trying.

Can you be curious?

When people with chronic issues come for treatment, often they are those who have been around a number of therapists without much success.  Then they come to check out what we do. In these instances, our focus is simple: find the ‘root cause’.

My very first teacher, Ken Woodward, taught me to be curious. Ken maintained it was the key to being successful in enabling patients back to wellness, and emphasised that we had to ask the right questions – and sometimes the hard questions. I did not realise at the time quite what this meant.

After a while in practice in my clinic, Ken’s words evolved into a clearer, more thought-out process. 

My four main points:

• Always see the whole body, the whole person.
• Always be genuinely curious – treat it like a case to be solved!
• Always remember how far back it can go: what was their childhood like? How did they study, what sport did they play? Have they had any falls? Any head injuries? Have they ever ridden horses or done a bungee jump?
• Always work on your anatomy and physiology and make friends with it. It is a lifelong journey of exploration. Really take time in understanding connections.

When I began training with the Tom Hendrickson in 2006, Tom likened my four points to SOAP notes.

Subjective: This is all about the reason for treatment and history, which may go back a long way, so get curious and ask! It’s at this point the treatment may touch onto general well-being, which is great to know too.

Objective: This is about our observations, it’s where we can assess active range of movement (ROM), passive movement, isometric testing and at times gentle palpation. We will be assessing their standing, their walking and how they hold their body.

Assessment/Action: Making notes on any treatment given through your assessment process. Noting what structures or condition could be responsible for your persons condition/pain.

Plan: Outline goals, aims, and how many treatments you might recommend. I always share my plan. I do explain this could change, sometime as we unravel a painful area, the response is not what we anticipate, so it may change. This is never a worry if you have always worked on your anatomy and physiology, but it needs communicating to the patient.

Here is an example case study relating to this process:

A young woman of 22yrs came to see me with long term chronic headache which were debilitating. She had her hairdressing exams coming up and needed help quickly. 

We started by looking at food that could be triggering her, and I gently asked her if there were any stresses in her life? We sat there chatting, me asking and questioning to get an idea of her world. 

I was observing the way she sat. There was a little anterior rotation through her upper ribs, with tension through the anterior neck. As well as that, the right GH joint just looked a little tense and seemed to be sitting higher than the other.

I enquired whether she had ever had a fall, or an accident with significant impact.

She smiled and said she had fallen over a rope swing when she was 14yrs and fractured her collar bone. I asked if she had had treatment, and it turned out she hadn’t, due to small size of the fracture. She said it had just been very sore and painful for quite a while.

On assessment, there was considerable tension in splenius capitus and cervices, scalenus, upper trap, multifidi, pec minor, subclavius. 

I suggested that we treated her as if she had just fallen off the rope swing, unravelling the old injury. I had a feeling the headaches would clear up.

It took just four treatments, in which I mostly employed the Hendrickson Method with precise strokes, for the headaches to clear.

It was all about getting curious. Instead of leaping into probing around the neck and head, as she told me previous therapists had done, our conversation revealed where I should focus her treatment. It is often this way; by taking the time to understand and acknowledge a patient’s history, we can reveal the path forward to their wellness.

I love to teach, to share what I have learnt over the past 30 years as first a Remedial Massage therapist, physiotherapist, and Hendrickson Method therapist.

I was first invited to teach by the Northern Institute of Massage back in 2003. Eddie Caldwell, the owner, said of me ‘he’d never met such a through, thought though therapist’ and wanted me to pass this on.

In 2005 the LCSP asked me to set up a cpd workshop for the register. It felt very confirming for me as a therapist.

I taught workshops on

• Muscle Energy Techniques
• Positional release
• Upper and lower crossed syndrome

I began training with Tom Hendrickson in 2006 and in 2013 Tom made me one of his teachers.

In those early days, I learnt that a lot of therapists hadn’t always had an amazing time at school, their experience of being taught and learning had often been lacking and at times humiliating.

I am dyslexic, my experiences weren’t great at school. So, I wanted to make my classes accessible, a comfortable place to learn and explore new techniques without judgment. A place where questions can be asked, information delivered in such a way, it didn’t matter if you were a kinesthetic, audio, or visual learner. Which has led to a very open safe learning space with lots of conversation, debate, reflective practice.

My classes can be recorded or filmed with the clear understanding it’s for personal use only, never to be shared on social media.

Attending my NLP practitioner program helped me to be clear, use less words, set boundaries in class.

It gives me such delight to share knowledge in ways that it reaches everyone in the room. Watching therapist flourish makes me feel, this is my place in the world.

Knowing there are patients being treated by therapist that understand that treatment techniques that don’t over challenge the nervous system leading to feeling that coming for treatment is ‘safety’ in mind is essential, precise hands are essential. Making sure we truly see the whole of our patients, by hearing their story well to quote Tarana Bruke ‘if you don’t hear me, you can’t see me’.

Knowing there are therapists that understand treatment can turn on a pin and be able to re-do that plan without thinking they didn’t get it right.

Knowing there are therapists that know how to check their own ego.

Knowing when they are going into over treatment mode, and can self-reflect, asking what driving my thoughts today.

In class we talk about how we enable ourselves, because it’s only when we can help ourselves can we be truly present for others, free of our self-doubt.

All this along with a deep understanding of anatomy and physiology allows therapists to find themselves knowledgeable confident, kind, open honest wholehearted therapists.

Here are a couple of testimonials.

‘To quote- Rudyard Kipling

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.

Your words are not only nurturing but also inspiring and even more so they encourage us to explore where our treatment may lead or what avenue it may lead us down.

Thank you Sue, without your spark/input/guidance I wouldn’t be where I am now in my treatment or life’.

Sally Pearce Hendrickson Method Practitioner LCSP

‘Toms work has allowed me to further my knowledge and grow my confidence when treating clients. Sue delivers the workshops in a way that I feel I can understand the work and confidently take it back to my treatment room and practice, practice, practice. I have found since using the Hendrickson Method, I have much more progress with clients, I am so glad I found Sue who has always supported me through my career as a therapist’.

Natalie Bagnell Massage therapist & Hendrickson Method Practitioner

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Tom Hendrickson began developing his wave mobilization and soft tissue mobilizations back in the 1990s.  Tom’s wave mobilization is a side lying approach to manual therapy.  I began training with Tom in 2006 and the Hendrickson Method became the cornerstone of my practice.

I found that Tom’s wave mobilization supported my approach to treating people with sensitive nervous systems, those dealing with long term trauma and PTSD.  At the heart of Tom’s work there is the wave mobilization, joint mobilization, and a unique way of interweaving muscle energy technique.

WAVE MOBILISATION

At the heart of the Hendrickson method, a unique technique called the wave mobilization the strokes are rounded, scooping strokes performed transverse to the soft tissue and applied as arrhythmic oscillations at a frequency of approximately 60 cycles per minute which matches the resting heart rate.  Performing wave mobilization is akin to ‘moving meditation’ which leads to an energetic opening for the therapist as well as the client.  These strokes are extremely relaxing and profoundly healing.

JOINT MOBILISATIONS

The joints and surrounding soft tissue are often the original source of pain in the body.  Acute injuries often cause swelling, heat and inflammation inhibiting normal muscular function by neurological response.  Chronic joint problems are usually due to either degeneration or dysfunction and are almost always due to misaligned and restricted joints which prevent normal movement.  The Hendrickson method uses specific protocols for treating acute and chronic joint problems that are effective in reducing pain and restoring normal movement.

MUSCLE ENERGY TECHNIQUE

As you may be aware muscle energy technique (MET) can be an extremely effective treatment for dysfunction of the nervous system.  Injury and chronic pain in the joints generate neurological reflexes which tighten or weaken specific muscles around joints.  I have found through Tom’s work, creating whisper-like resistive pressure provides enough neurological input to creating changes in the fibers, creating a pathway to enlighten the people we are treating to enable patients to get to know their body’s function better.  A unique aspect of the Hendrickson Method is that it provides treatment for the joints, the nervous system, the soft tissue, and the fascia because the cross-fiber scooping strokes address the fascia that holds and supports the fibers.

The Hendrickson Method has given my patients long term benefits that have gone beyond when I have used my conventional oil-based massage.  Studying Tom’s work has made my anatomy knowledge grow out of the requirements for precise hand movements.  I have found my treatments for back pain, neck and hip degeneration, headaches and TMJ pain clear up a lot quicker.  Feedback from the people I treat have found the treatments profoundly relaxing and will often say to me, “I feel you have relaxed me from the inside out rather than the outside in.”  Nobody gets up feeling overwhelmed by the treatment they have received. The bonus is that we can work through the patient’s clothing, for some patients this gives them a ‘safe’ feeling especially when dealing with lifelong pain states.