Working the Rib Cage

Materials

• Online Manual - 49 pages
• Online multiple-choice test
• Online Videos - 3 hours
• Certificate upon completion

Description

As massage therapists, we spend a lot of time working on our clients’ backs. And yet because we are so focused on all the big, beautiful muscles that spread across the back, we often forget what is underneath–the ribs. These small bones, and the even smaller muscles that run in between them, are essential to nearly everything we do each day. They protect and support every breath we take, and they provide the foundation that enables every movement we make with our arms and our head. This is a neglected part of the body. It shouldn’t be.

In this course students will:

• Review the bony landmarks of the rib cage, and the relevant muscular attachments as well as the function of the rib cage in the breathing process, both diaphragmatic and paradoxical breathing.
• Practice clear and effective draping to expose the rib cage while keeping breast tissue covered, when the client is in supine.
• Demonstrate clear communication with the client both before and during work on the rib cage.
• Observe and apply techniques in both prone and supine.
• Practice contacting this sensitive area both with confidence and ease.

Course Objectives

• Identify the bony landmarks of the rib cage, and the relevant muscular attachments.
• Describe the function of the rib cage in the breathing process, both diaphragmatic and paradoxical breathing.
• Recognize clear and effective draping to expose the rib cage while keeping breast tissue covered, when the client is in supine.
• Demonstrate clear communication with the client both before and during work on the rib cage.
• Perform techniques in both prone and supine to address: external and internal intercostal muscles, subclavius, the related layers of fascia, and the thoracic joints both anterior and posterior.
• Recognize how to contact this sensitive area both with confidence and ease, using an awareness of their own body mechanics in order to work as light or as deep as the client needs, while still maintaining their own bodily integrity.

Course Reviews

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Instructors

David Lobenstine, LMT

David M. Lobenstine has been a massage therapist, teacher, and writer for over a decade. He is a graduate of the Swedish Institute and Vassar College. He has worked in a variety of settings, from luxury spas to the US Open Tennis Tournament to a hospice to now, exclusively, his own private practice, Full Breath Massage. And he has developed and taught continuing education courses around the country, from the Swedish Institute to the AMTA National Convention. His aim, both with his clients and in his teaching, is to enhance self-awareness, so that we can do the things we love with efficiency and ease.

Mr. Lobenstine is the creator and instructor of Pour Don't Push, Working the Rib Cage, Using Your Thumbs Wisely, Approaching the Upper Body from All Angles, and Using the Breath to Massage Better.