Biography:

Mary Biancalana, is  founder of Chicago Center of Myofascial Pain Relief (Now merged with Whole Health Chicago). Mary is considered a subject matter expert in the understanding of myofascial pain and dysfunction caused by myofascial trigger points. Published author of two books, 12 magazine articles, and she has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine in an article on trigger points. She has excelled in the fitness and education field for 40 years and is in her 24th year as a  full-time Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist. 

A lifelong athlete and exerciser, Mary possesses a unique blend of skills and training that sets her apart. She holds a B.S. from DePaul University in Teaching Physical Education and a Master’s Degree in Education from Northeastern Illinois University. She is an American Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer, a Nationally Board-Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist, and a Licensed Massage Therapist. She is the current Vice-President of the NAMTPT, and has served the organization consistently for 23 years. Mary  recently served as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the IMS, International MyoPain Society, a world-wide organization focused on the understanding of and treatment for myofascial pain and fibromyalgia.

Mary has developed 37 NCBTMB approved courses covering treatment techniques, understanding our fascial system, self-care, manual trigger point  techniques for the reduction of pain/sensation and to improve sports performance. Mary is the founder and developer of www.ChicagoTriggerPointSeminars.com, a stand-alone learning platform for high-quality, advanced courses teaching myofascial trigger point therapy techniques to massage therapists and health care providers including doctors, nurse practitioners, chiropractors, dentists, orthodontists and physical therapists.

Topic (Taught by Dr Zuleger and Mary Biancalana): Improving Treatment Outcomes!  Adding Distraction techniques to manual therapy sessions

In this hands-on participation session, Dr Julie Zuleger and Mary Biancalana will have students using many types of distraction techniques. The licensed massage therapist / myofascial trigger point therapist should be employing these techniques during treatment sessions. We all know that by distracting the golgi, pacini, and subdermal sensory receptors, the client is better able to  to allow for normalization of contracted muscle and fascial segments, thereby reducing pain/sensation.  We will learn about various distraction techniques including; heat, percussion, jostling, contract/relax or post-treatment assisted stretching.

1. Learning Objectives
2. The student will learn how to apply percussive techniques using the Myofascial trigger point clinical model.
3.  The student will be able to describe characteristics of golgi, pacini and ruffini tendon organ receptors.
4. The student will demonstrate how to apply the distraction techniques to the key trigger points and taut fiber bundles causing the problem.
5.  The student will discuss and understand the concept of optimal length/ tension relationship in muscles and fascia in clients presenting with myofascial pain and dysfunction.