Recently, a fellow Massage Therapist asked me what books I have read in the last 6 months that have inspired me? And I realized my list actually shows a lot of insight into how I work and how I approach massage with a therapeutic, client-centric focus. Please note that while I may not directly use all of these books or resources in my sessions, they have certainly molded my approach, sometimes in a very direct way and sometimes in a much more abstract way. I hope you enjoy the list and feel free to send me a message to let me know what you are reading these days!
My Current Reading List
Massage Related (albeit loosely in some cases):
• Better Movement by Todd Hargrove: “A Guide to Better Movement is a resource for movement professionals, athletes, chronic pain sufferers, and anyone else who wants to move better and feel better.”
• Brukner & Khan’s Clinical Sports Medicine Volume 1 Injuries Note that while my role as a Massage Therapist does not include diagnosing or treatment, it does include assessment. Assessment allows me to determine with the client how we will approach each session together and alerts me to any injuries or concerns that may be out of my scope of practice, so I can refer clients to the appropriate professionals. This book is an excellent resource for those working with active adults, recreational athletes, weekend warriors and elite athletes alike.
• Ruth Werner’s Guide to Pathology: While my first reading of this book was years ago while I was in Massage Therapy school, I still go back to it regularly. Staying aware of the role massage should and should not play in regards to specific pathologies is paramount. This is the best massage related resource for pathology that I’ve seen, as it encourages critical thinking and takes multiple factors into account.
• Orthopedic Assessment In Massage Therapy by Whitney Lowe: Continuing education is such an important piece of my work. I have now begun a new journey in my education working towards a Clinical Rehabilitative Massage Specialty Certificate. This is a self paced program that includes both an online core group of classes through the Academy of Clinical Massage, in person workshops and finally a specialty certificate exam. While a lengthy process that I anticipate will take between 4 and 6 years to complete fully, this year I plan to finish 2 regional courses as a part of the Clinical Orthopedic Massage Online Program portion which along with an online component, use this book, Orthopedic Assessment in Massage Therapy. Feel free to ask me about what I’ve been learning and how we can incorporate this knowledge into your next session.
Self-Improvement:
• DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets by Marsha M. Linehan: I love this workbook for my own self improvement. This book is best used in conjunction with a therapist skilled in DBT. But while originally created specifically for BPD, I have found the workbook includes easy to use skills that help me day to day, as the book description says, “improving mindfulness, interpersonal relationships and emotion regulation”.
• Dealing with People You Can’t Stand by Brinkman/Kirschner: Horrible title I know. And I personally try to come at things from a positive perspective. But title aside, this book really talks about how you can approach different types of people in their language, helping you to come to an understanding with them vs creating tension/arguments. I had last read it over 10 years ago and after moving recently, I found it going through my books and decided its time for a refresher since I got so much out of it the first time.
Leisure Reading:
• The terrible and wonderful reasons why I run long distances by Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal): Easy read and funny illustrations about why he runs that real, honest and funny.
• GOOD TO GO: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn From the Strange Science of Recovery by Christie Aschwanden: There is a lot of pseudoscience out there surrounding recovery in sports, so I am very excited for this book. It’s currently in pre-order and is scheduled to be released on February 5th, 2019.