Richard is a graduate of the Academy of Myotherapy and Physical Fitness and the Academy of Health Sciences (Fort Sam Houston USAR – Physical Therapy Specialist). He earned his CMT through the Life Credit Program at the Colorado School of Healing Arts. He is a Board-Certified member of the National Association of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapists and served as president from 1992-94.

Richard has served on the Board of Advisors of the Fibromyalgia Research Foundation, and on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapists. He has coauthored a set of wall charts of muscle length tests with C. M. Shifflett and a textbook Myofascial Pain Syndrome: Manual Trigger Point & S-EMG Biofeedback Therapy Methods with Gabriel Sella MD. Richard is the developer of the Fusion Movement System.

Lecture Topic: Supportive Trigger Point Therapy for Organ Dysfunction

A relationship exists between spinal segments that supply organs, nerves, and muscles via shared pathways.  A dysfunctional organ will refer a point of maximal tenderness to an area of the skin that it shares a spinal segment with.  This same segment will innervate muscles as well.  Treating the skin, muscles and spinal segments is supportive of the associated organ.  This will be discussed, demonstrated, and practiced in this class.

Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to:

1. Explain a proposed mechanism by which stimulation of the surface of the body may be supportive of the organs.
2. Identify the muscles to be treated via dermatome map.
3. Locate spinal segments for treatment via testing.
4. Treat the spinal level of a particular organ.
5.