The Beginning

Douglas Nelson has been practicing massage since 1977. His first introduction to this work was as a student in classes taught by Steve and Beverly Kitts, who went on to develop the training into a formalized program; the Connecticut Center for the Study of Massage Therapy. Doug was one of their early students.

Most of the beginning of Doug's career was spent studying the Eastern aspects of massage, and he attended many seminars by Pierre Pannetier, the leading teacher of Polarity Therapy. He also attended many other trainings, including workshops with Moshe Feldenkrais and other leaders in the field. He also completed a state approved training program at the Ozark Life Center in Fayetteville, AR in 1983. He then completed a Postural Integration training with Dr. Joy Johnson in 1985, and began to focus his practice on body/mind integration. The clinical practice was in an office with several psychotherapists and counselors, and much of the practice was mind / body integration.

After several years of this avenue of work, it was time for a new direction. Doug was much more interested in treated everyday soft-tissue problems. The need for such treatment was great. Thinking he would apply to physical therapy, he was amazed to discover that he was denied, not because of grades, but because of his prior status of massage therapist. They were not interested in manual therapy. A foray into osteopathic schools yielded the same results. At that point, he decided to continue as a massage therapist by exploring the science behind the work.

After several non-productive trainings, Doug attended a seminar with Paul St. John. As Paul has done for so many, the world of more targeted therapy became a reality. After certification in 1991, Doug became a teaching assistant in 1992 and began teaching in late 1993. He taught 85 seminars for the St. John Institute before leaving the Institute in 1997.

The clinic grew during this time, rising to eighteen therapists in three locations. He had a physical therapy department and athletic trainers in his employ. Doug's job is to manage the clinic (with some great help from his staff), and also see clients of his own. Through all of this, he has always supported himself through his clinical practice. He has averaged 25+ clients a week since 1983. In addition, he also began working for the Chicago Bulls and the St. Louis Rams as their neuromuscular therapy consultant. Lots of travel again! This became an excellent learning opportunity as well as an exciting way to contribute.

After a break from teaching, he was asked to put together a seminar for a massage school. It became a vehicle for furthering his own learning and sharing the work he was doing. One thing lead to another, and several hundred trainings have been given since 1997!

There are certainly other NMT trainings out there, so students always want to know if this is the best one for their investment in time and money. First, the trainings that I am aware of, (St. John, Judy DeLany), are good trainings. Every student in any field stands on the shoulders of teachers and practitioners who preceded them. This field is no different. It is with great thanks that I acknowledge all that I learned from those who taught me.

I started PNMT because I wanted to get really clear about what the work really is, what I am doing, why I am doing it, and when I shouldn't even try. My experience at the professional sports level taught me a lot. No one ever asked me for a resume. They only wanted one thing- results. When you don't deliver, you're gone. I like that mentality, it makes you better. High pressure; high reward.

While working for a professional sports team, I had an encounter that would alter my direction forever. The orthopedist at that team was not appreciative of my contribution. He resented the fact that the head coach brought me in, and the orthopedist had little use for neuromuscular therapy. This doctor would stand right next to me with his arms crossed and ask, "What do you think that is going to do?" He challenged everything I did. I had never really had to answer to anyone like that in my career. It was humiliating to be challenged so directly, but worse, on many points he was dead right. I really didn't know. I knew what someone told me, I knew what I thought, etc. These are opinions, not facts.

In my field, there have often been very articulate and charismatic teachers who say, "It is like this." They give out 'recipes' for problems, and speak with conviction and authority. This doc couldn't give a hoot for what my teachers told me, since he thought the whole thing was hogwash. This was a low point in my career as I also began to question what I knew, or thought I knew. In the sea of belief, where is the truth?

I began to re-examine every aspect of the trainings and what I was teaching. Was there research behind this stuff? Where did these techniques come from? If we "knew" they worked, could we prove it? The answer is yes, we can prove it. Instead of jumping through hoops to get a piece of paper, I had students do research for their certification. The students would help themselves, further the learning of PNMT, and our profession as a whole. This is exactly what happened. Students came up with the ideas for their research and we have done many projects. I am perhaps most proud of the research that many of the therapists in the certification program are doing. In some cases, groups of two or three from different parts of the country have learned to collaborate with each other. We have had sample sizes of up to three hundred people in a study.

It is easy to teach and claim many things, but we really aim to back up what we say with research. We aren't waiting around for big grants for this either. I am more interested in the work we can do right now. Much of what we found is totally counter-intuitive and quite insightful. Most are questions that the students themselves wished to pursue to understand in a deeper way. I have benefited a lot from this research. It has given me exactly what I wished in an organization- learning for me too! This organization is unusual in that it is not a pyramid with all knowledge flowing down from the top. Instead, my job is to stimulate people to ask questions, pursue their dreams, and be a much better therapist than they ever dreamed they could. We all learn from each other. I learn from my other instructors constantly, and have full faith in them.

As a side note, If ever I have the chance to work with that doc again, I'm ready. If I say that I am treating a particular muscle, I know exactly why and it is based on well-researched criteria from other sources (all known to any orthopedist) or our own. I will be able to judge the efficacy of my work easily using accepted criteria. Other professionals have since challenged me and it has been a wonderful sense of confidence to site my sources or give them our painstaking research. The tables suddenly are turned; it is clear that their objection is based upon their opinion, not upon fact. Whoa! Now, the facts are on my side!

Is PNMT for Everyone? Realistically, no. It is for people who like to solve problems by addressing specific myofascial concerns. If you are happy doing a recipe or routine, this work isn't for you. If you have been practicing for awhile, and feel stagnant or not confident in helping specific problems, PNMT is for you! Our formula for treatment is pretty clear:

• Define the problem- fast! (We don't stand and analyze people for an hour- this needs to be done quickly.)
• Set benchmarks and parameters ( We are big in setting measurable goals)
• Target the approach (The work is very precise- 5mm and you are off the mark. It is NOT overly deep, invasive, or the brutal stuff often passed as NMT.)
• Re-assess to gauge effectiveness. (If you didn't make a difference- you didn't make a difference. Change strategies- rethink the approach. If you are right, the results will show. No excuses!)

This pragmatic approach has been a hallmark of success for me personally and also for the clinic I own. (My clinic sees over 1,000 people a month, quite a feat for a small town.) Be clear about the strengths and weaknesses of the work. Don't over-promise; people have had enough of that. Engage the client in the work; problems are best solved together. If you can't solve it after a reasonable effort; refer them. Give the next practitioner full account of what you did. You get respect by giving it.

NMT MidWest, Inc • 407 West Windsor Rd. • Champaign, IL 61820 • 866-325-7668
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