This course delivers a fresh, evidence-based perspective on manual therapy, helping clinicians evolve beyond outdated biomechanical models and toward more effective, patient-centered practice. Learn how to integrate hands-on techniques in a way that supports long-term outcomes without fostering dependency. Whether you use manipulations, soft tissue techniques, dry needling, or cupping, you'll discover how to apply them purposefully, communicate clearly, and improve your clinical reasoning.

Rooted in current research and real-world experience, this course will help you reframe your understanding of manual therapy's role in pain modulation, patient empowerment, and long-term success. Avoid the trap of nocebo language and over-treatment by mastering the art of contextualized care.

What You'll Learn:

  • Why outdated biomechanical narratives fall short, and what to use instead

  • How to deliver manual therapy that supports—not undermines—patient autonomy

  • The role of mechano-transduction and CNS modulation in symptom relief

  • When to choose manipulations, soft tissue, dry needling, or cupping based on irritability and patient preference

  • How to align manual interventions with load progression, periodization, and exercise

  • Language strategies to improve patient understanding and reduce nocebo effects

Course curriculum

    1. How to use this course

    2. Before we begin...

    3. Welcome!

    1. Lesson 1 - What is Manual Therapy?

    2. Lesson 2 - What the Research Says About Manual Therapy

    3. Lesson 3 - What Actually Happens

    4. Lesson 4 - Common Pitfalls

    5. Lesson 5 - How to Explain Manual to Your Patients

    6. Lesson 6 - Are You a Manual Jedi or Sith?

    1. Course Evaluation Form

    2. Thank You!

About this course

  • Free
  • 11 lessons
  • 0.5 hours of video content

Course Highlights:

  • Critical review of popular techniques (manipulation, dry needling, cupping)

  • Specific clinical strategies for high- and low-irritability presentations

  • Framework for choosing when and how to use manual therapy

  • Real case examples and discussion of common clinical traps

  • A Jedi vs. Sith model for ethical, effective care

Who This Is For:

Clinicians who use or want to use manual therapy but want to do so with clarity, ethics, and effectiveness. Ideal for:

  • New grads building their decision-making framework

  • Experienced providers re-evaluating old narratives

  • Text length of individual points can be shorter or longer depending on your needs

Discover your potential, starting today

Enroll today