Throughout the years of practicing Body Tuning, I have heard the same story, with only a little variation, from my clients: “I saw an orthopedist… I had an MRI… I was given exercises…I didn’t get better… I tried acupuncture, chiropractic… nothing worked. I finally decided no one could help me. I’ve been walking around with pain for a long time until someone recommended that I come to see you.”
What I know from listening to these personal stories is that musculo/skeletal problems are not getting serious attention from the medical community. Physicians are trained to deal mostly with life threatening conditions. And, indeed, it is a good thing that we have experts who can recognize serious illness, save our health, and often our lives.
But for many who suffer from pain and discomfort in their musculo/skeletal systems, the early stages of their problems are difficult to diagnose. Conventional tests are better for diagnosing a problem when it is advanced and needs surgical intervention. Many physicians are trained to see the worst case scenarios, but not to deal with the small, uncomfortable conditions about which the patient is complaining. If the patient complains of a muscle ache…the doctor may think of a torn muscle, or if the patient has a nerve inflammation the doctor may think of something more serious requiring an MRI or CT Scan to diagnose correctly.
This is why I recommend to my clients that they start with simpler interventions by Physiatrists (MDs), Chiropractors (DCs), Osteopaths (DOs) and Physical Therapists (PTs). They are equipped to take care of the aches and pains, the small things that bother most of us humans. And, they are required to refer the patient to a more invasive health practitioner if they see that the problem is beyond their ability to improve. Most people come to see me after they have seen other health practitioners. Sometimes I must also refer them back to invasive practitioners if I see that the problem is more than physical therapy is capable of solving.
Some clients tell me that no physical therapist has ever spent so much time with them just working on their bodies, teaching them how to carry themselves, how to walk, sit, what exercises they need to be doing when they are on their own. Many clients worry about having to leave New York City because they won’t be able to find anyone ‘out there’ who will look after them and their needs as we do in our Body Tuning Studio. I tell them that most certainly there are good practitioners elsewhere who can do what I do or better and I even post a list of the ones recommended to me and some I know personally (see The Nature of Physical Therapy).
But, every once in a while, after receiving a body tuning, a client will tell me that they have had a similar hands on experience from a physical therapist in another State or even in New York. To me this is wonderful to hear and confirms my awareness that others are doing good work for their clients, even though they may not be able to call it ‘body tuning.’ And so, in an effort to help my own clients who move away, and others around the country who need the kind of treatment we offer, I propose the following:
If those of you who are reading this, know personally of practitioners who work as I do, who spend at least 30 minutes with each patient doing hands on therapy and another 30 with various modalities; those who use a variety of techniques, methods, modalities and exercises to ease pain and discomfort in the body, please email me their names. I will then offer them a weekend working with me and my clients, demonstrating their skill, after which, if I and my clients are confident of their abilities, they will receive certification as a Body Tuner. My desire is, eventually, to have many practitioners in every State who are working as I do to alleviate the pain and suffering of musculo/skeletal problems and who can call themselves ‘body tuners.’
There is no cost for this certification weekend, other than what the practitioner must pay to fly or drive here, and hotel expenses in NYC. But, this offer is only for those who are doing the kind of work that I do. Once they receive the certification they will go on my referral list of body tuning practitioners posted on my website.
Please contact our office if you have a practitioner to recommend for weekend certification, or if you need any further clarification.
Stay ‘tuned.’
Shmuel Tatz