Deep Tissue Therapy

Massage Therapy continuing education CEs earned: 20

Course classification: Kinesthetic (course materials teach specific techniques to use on clients during a massage therapy session.) "General" for CE Broker purposes.

Tuition: This is a "Test Only" course, you will provide your own textbook: Because many of our students already own this text, or prefer an electronic version or to purchase a used copy, we now offer only the test and continuing education credits. By enrolling, nothing will be mailed to you. The "test only" option from us is just that, the test only. There is no separate course materials from us beyond the test. We can email you a study guide at your request. When you log in to access the course through our site, all you will be able to access is the online test. 

To purchase the textbook new or used: From the publisher along with online resources, click here. To purchase from Amazon, new or used, click here. 

Testing: You complete your test online, and immediately upon passing, print your own certificate. To see how our online courses and testing work, we invite you to take our free sample course.

Approved by: Institute of Somatic Therapy (Judith Koch) is approved by the NCBTMB (Provider #280672-00) as a continuing education Approved Provider. Institute of Somatic Therapy is approved by Florida (#MCE-326), and New York (#0019). Our courses are also valid for AMTA, ABMP, and most individual states. Some states limit how many hours can be done online or by home study. Please refer to our State Guidelines section for specific information about your state. Laws can and do change, and your state will hold you responsible for knowing the laws that apply to you.

CE Broker:   Unless stated otherwise in the course descriptions, our courses are considered "General" for CEBroker purposes.  Institute of Somatic Therapy will automatically report your hours to CE Broker ONLY IF you have provided your license number in your online account with us. You can verify your license information by logging on to our website, and reviewing your account information that appears on the left side of the page. If your license is not shown there, please select “edit” to include it.

Course Materials: The Balanced Body: A Guide to Deep Tissue and Neuromuscular Therapy by Donald W. Scheumann, Textbook. (Effective November 18, 2019 the course will use the 4th Edition text. Enrollments prior to that date will be able to complete the course with the 3rd Edition.)

Course Description: How many times have you had a massage that was little more than someone putting oil on your body? Two complaints about massage are that the therapist either was too light, or, the opposite, that they worked too deeply with incorrect techniques so the client was sore afterwards. By taking this home study massage therapy continuing education course, you will avoid both of those complaints.

You will learn a systematic training program for deep tissue and neuromuscular therapy, along with other massage modalities. You will study the indications and contraindications, the formation and treatment of trigger points, professional ethics, and body mechanics. You will then learn to design a treatment protocol of a sequential, progressive deep tissue routine for the entire body, as well as exercises and stretches to augment the effects of the deep tissue work. You will receive the course text which comes with a CD-ROM demonstrating the techniques.

Upon completion, you will earn 20 massage therapy continuing education credits/contact hours/CEUs. But more importantly, you will have gained a vast amount of knowledge that will have a positive effect on your ability to release restrictions from head to toe. 

Publisher's Description of Textbook:

The Third Edition of The Balanced Body offers you more resources to master deep tissue and neuromuscular massage in order to present your clients with a complete integrated approach to massage. Use this book as a teaching manual and reference for a systematic training program for deep tissue and neuromuscular therapy and other massage modalities. The series of lessons within the book cover sequential, progressive massage therapy for the entire body to help you to create an integrated treatment plan.

In this Third Edition you'll find these features:

• Detailed illustrations (with 40 new illustrations in this edition) bring the techniques to life
• Case Studies with real-world scenarios and questions to consider
• Indication/Contraindication Boxes show when massage is and isn't advisable
• ssential Anatomy Boxes present crucial anatomical information to consider before learning a technique
• Cautionary Notes warn about special cases and situations
• overage of Trigger Point Release Work combined with deep tissue therapy and tension release massage presents different therapeutic options
• Quick Reference Charts summarize key points from the introductory chapters
• Guidelines for Elevating the Quality of Massage Work provide suggestions to improve treatment quality

Plus, a BONUS CD-ROM packaged with this book includes:

• 20 massage technique video clips (featuring the author)
• 10 Acland anatomy video clips
• Images from the text
• Chapter Quizzes

Student Comment: "I really, really did learn a lot from this, and certain techniques have changed my massage drastically. This book has changed my view about deep tissue. It's not about hurting the person, but when you have patience with the muscle and the client can feel and trust that you're there for them and am giving them your time to fix the muscle they are a totally different person when they get off of the massage table. It's so awesome to see how effective these massages are for the client. Thank you so much." Cassandra Wilson, La Mesa, CA

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Can I print the online test to work on it at my convenience? Students enrolling in the full course by mail will receive a study guide that they can use as a reference to fill in the answers to the online tests. Students who enroll for the test only can request that we email them a copy of the study guide.

What is the study guide that comes with the course? The course study guide is a copy of the questions you will find on the online exam. As you study the course materials, you can fill in the answers on the guide, to refer to when you complete the online exam. We do not provide page numbers where you will find the answers to the questions, because we want you to study the entire course materials, not just flip to a page to find an answer to a test question.  Because the study guide contains the actual test questions, we do not provide an answer key. It is your job to find the answers as you study. You will get your grade when you complete the online exam.

What happens if I fail the test? Do I have to pay again? No. If you happen to fail our test, you can continue to retest until you do pass at no additional charge. With most of our courses, as noted above, the test will be different each time you take it. You can print out your test results to use as a reference for studying before taking the test again.

What is the difference between cognitive and kinesthetic courses? Cognitive courses are those that teach concepts related to massage therapy, but do not teach specific hands-on techniques. Courses such as ethics, pathology, anatomy, and research are classified as cognitive. Kinesthetic courses are those that teach specific hands-on techniques that you can use on clients during a massage therapy session. Some states limit how many kinesthetic courses can be completed in an online or home study setting. Refer to our state guidelines page for specifics about your state.

To contact the Institute of Somatic Therapy about this or any other massage therapy CEU course, you can email us through the "contact" link above. Thank you.