• Palpation and orthopedic assessment,
• body mechanics,
• soft tissue manipulation (massage),
• myofascial stretching (basic and advanced techniques),
• arthrofascial stretching (AFS: Grade IV joint mobilization for manual therapists),
• hydrotherapy,
• treatment strategy
…are all woven into each of the six hands-on workshops.
Completion of any and all of the six hands-on workshops as part of the full COMT Certification will refine how you apply your techniques in clinical orthopedic manual and movement rehabilitative care, thus distinguishing you in your practice!
Become COMT Certified
Clinical Orthopedic Manual Therapy (COMT) Certification involves a series of six in-person workshops and two sets of home study courses. Together, these workshops and courses address clinical orthopedic assessment and treatment techniques, as well as musculoskeletal pathology, and kinesiology for the entire body.
Becoming COMT certified means that you will learn how to remedy specific musculoskeletal complaints with which your client/patient presents. These workshops are all hands-on and always address each assessment and treatment technique from the point of view of critical thinking so you can creatively apply your techniques for maximal results!
Content of COMT Workshops
These hands-on workshops will cover the following assessment and treatment protocols: (Note: These courses can be taken in any order.)
- Efficient body mechanics for deep pressure massage – Learn how to work from your core so you work smarter instead of harder.
- Orthopedic assessment testing – Determine which treatment techniques are safe and effective to use by having a clear assessment picture of your client’s/patient’s condition.
- Stretching – Learn how to figure out how to most effectively stretch each muscle of the client instead of having to memorize stretching protocols.
- Advanced stretching techniques – Learn how to use contract relax (CR), also known as post-isometric relaxation (PIR), also known as proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) technique; and also agonist contract (AC) technique (the basis for Aaron Mattes – Active Isolated Stretching [AIS] technique)
- Arthrofascial Stretching (AFS): Soft Tissue Joint Mobilization for Manual Therapists – AFS is the most powerful technique available to most massage and manual therapists. It is the only method that can release individual hypomobile segments of the spine. Learn how to perform this technique safely and effectively.
- The neck workshop also teaches how to treat the anterior neck safely and effectively.
In-Person Workshops
Each in-person workshop offers a Certificate of Completion and continuing education (CE) hours through the National Certification Board for Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB). Each home study course is divided into chapters/modules and offers Certificates of Achievement and CE hours through the NCBTMB (see workshops / home study page for more details).
After completing all six in-person workshops and two sets of home study courses, a Certificate of Achievement is awarded that certifies you as a Clinical Orthopedic Massage Therapist (COMT), designating you as an advanced orthopedic therapist.
The In-Person Workshops are:
Click each link for more information on each individual COMT workshop:
- COMT Techniques for the Neck (2 days – 16 CE hours)
- COMT Techniques for the Thoracic Spine and Ribcage (2 days – 16 CE hours)
- COMT Techniques for the Low Back and Pelvis (2 days – 16 CE hours)
- COMT Techniques for the Upper Extremity (2 days – 16 CE hours)
- COMT Techniques for the Lower Extremity (2 days – 16 CE hours)
- COMT Arthrofascial Stretching (AFS) – Soft Tissue Joint Mobilization for Manual Therapists (2 days – 16 CE hours)
Note: The COMT Certification in-person workshops have changed from being four 2-day workshops + one 1-day workshop to now being six 2-day workshops. This change was made in August of 2014. For anyone who has already begun the Certification process and is moving forward in a timely manner to attain the full Certification, the increased in-person hours will not be required for COMT Certification.
Home Study Courses
The home study courses are (Note: Most of these home study courses earn NCBTMB CE hours credit):
- Kinesiology home study course (all chapters/modules)
- Muscular System Manual home study course (chapters/modules 4-19 only)
- You may take the home study courses in any order that you like, but it is generally recommended to complete the Kinesiology Book first.
- There is a 25% discount if you sign up for and pay for all required modules of each book up front. Please call Jan Schwartz to set this up. This is a savings of $92.00 for Kinesiology and $81.00 for The Muscular System Manual. Or a savings of $173.00 for both books! (You have 18 months to complete the modules.)
The Home Study Courses are exclusively available through our Digital COMT subscription service.
Schedule of WorkshopsFor more information, contact info@learnmuscles.com
