| In Tandem Point acupressure therapy, eastern and western pressure points are held in tandem, to better release tension and remove pain. Stretching through held pressure points allows an even deeper release of painful points and rapidly eliminates persistent muscle contractures. This approach yields clear results in healthy and hydrated clients. Rena Margulis, NCTMB and Diplomate ABT (NCCAOM), developed Tandem Point therapy. She has presented Tandem Point therapy at Rehabilitation Medicine Grand Rounds at the National Institutes of Health. Classes in Tandem Point therapy are designed for hands-on health care professionals. Students should have good palpation skills: an individual with good palpation skills can identify points that are likely to be painful based on the hardness of the tissue. Also, an individual with good palpation skills can hold a tender point for ten seconds and within those ten seconds start to feel a pulse in the point. Knowledge of trigger points and/or Chinese acupuncture/acupressure meridians will facilitate learning. Rena Margulis will teach the following classes:
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 (6 p.m. to 10 p.m.) Scar Tissue Release: The Tandem Point Approach
Massage Arts Center of Philadelphia, 714 Market Street, Suite 103, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 267-321-0200, info@massagearts.com. $60. 4 NCBTMB-approved CE units. No pre-requisites. Suitable for all health care professionals and students in all health care fields, including massage therapy students. Class size limited to 18. Students in this class will learn how to quickly release scar tissue using a combination of direct pressure, stretching, hydration, and pressure to acupuncture points. This scar tissue release technique has restored normal feeling to painful or numb scars even twenty years after surgery, eliminated back and neck pain caused by scar-tissue pulls in the myofascial fabric, and relieved long-term pain of six, ten, twelve years where medical intervention has failed. It has been used for burn scars and non-surgical cuts as well as surgical scars. Common surgical scars addressed with this strategy include C-section scars, appendectomy scars, and breast surgery scars. If you have adult friends, relatives, or clients with (a) scars and (b) pain or loss of range of motion, please e-mail Rena Margulis (info@tandempoint.com, use "Class" in the Subject line) about bringing them to the class to be treated. Saturday, June 16 and Saturday, June 30, 2007 (9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.) Introduction to Tandem Point Therapy
Massage Arts Center of Philadelphia, 714 Market Street, Suite 103, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 267-321-0200, info@massagearts.com. $200 on or before May 19, $220 after. 16 NCBTMB-approved CE units. Pre-requisites discussed in class description later on this page. Class size limited to 18. If you have adult friends, relatives, or clients with knee pain, please e-mail Rena Margulis (info@tandempoint.com, use "Class" in the Subject line) about bringing them to the class to be treated. Monday, August 13, 2006 (6 p.m. to 10 p.m.)
Scar Tissue Release: The Tandem Point Approach
Monterey Institute of Touch, 27820 Dorris Drive, Carmel, CA 93923, 831-624-1006, mit@redshift.com. $60; $25 deposit to hold your place in class. No prerequisites. Suitable for all health care professionals and students in all health care fields, including massage therapy students. Class size limited to 18. Students in this class will learn how to quickly release scar tissue using a combination of direct pressure, stretching, hydration, and pressure to acupuncture points. This scar tissue release technique has restored normal feeling to painful or numb scars even twenty years after surgery, eliminated back and neck pain caused by scar-tissue pulls in the myofascial fabric, and relieved long-term pain of six, ten, twelve years where medical intervention has failed. It has been used for burn scars and non-surgical cuts as well as surgical scars. Common surgical scars addressed with this strategy include C-section scars, appendectomy scars, and breast surgery scars. If you have adult friends, relatives, or clients with (a) scars and (b) pain or loss of range of motion, please e-mail Rena Margulis (info@tandempoint.com, use "Class" in the Subject line) about bringing them to the class to be treated.
Introduction to Tandem Point Therapy Class Outline  | Part 1: Introduction to Tandem Point Therapy
Goals of Tandem Point therapy; indications; contraindications; precautions; preparation; instructions for the therapist and client. Intake forms. Trigger points; types of muscle problems; agonist/antagonist/muscle chain relationships. Demonstration. Muscles of the thigh; trigger points in muscles of the thigh; pain referral areas. Simple muscle approach: demonstration and practice.
| | Part 2: Integrating Chinese Acupressure Therapy
Chinese energy anatomy: 12 organ meridians; flow of qi; 12 sinew channels. Tandem point selection; key tandem points for muscles of the thigh. Tandem point approach for problems of the knee. Demonstration and practice. | Pre-requisites  | Current massage students should complete their anatomy training before taking this class. Students will be expected to have working knowledge of the origins, insertions, and actions of the following muscles: psoas major, illiacus, rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, pectineus, gracilis, adductor magnus, biceps femoris, sartorius, semitendinosus, semimembranosus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, piriformis, gluteus maximus. | Attire | Students should wear loose, comfortable, cotton clothing, such as t-shirts and cotton gym shorts, and sandals. Tandem Point therapy is applied with the client dressed and barefoot. | Recommended Resources | Anyone who intends to utilize Tandem Point therapy in his or her professional practice is most strongly urged to obtain Travell and Simons’ Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual, Volumes I and II, $194. These books are an invaluable resource for the office of any therapist who addresses muscle-related pain. Also, students should have a reference that locates acupuncture points and preferably provides drawings of meridians. By far the best reference is A Manual of Acupuncture, $140. Alternatively, students may obtain Acupuncture Points and Meridians Atlas, $15; The Way to Locate the Acu-Points, $16.70 shipped to California, $13.95 shipped elsewhere in the U.S.A., available from the Mueller College Bookstore, 1-800-245-1976; Fundamentals of Chinese Acupuncture, $22.41; 24-inch Male Acupuncture Model $31, or 19-inch Female Acupuncture Model, $22.50. For individuals who already have a background in Chinese acupuncture/acupressure meridians, a valuable resource is A New American Acupuncture, $29.95 | |
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Comments from Previous Tandem Point Therapy Students | "I took the Introduction to Tandem Point therapy class two years ago. Compared to myofascial sports therapy, neuromuscular therapy, or trigger point therapy, Tandem Point therapy is extremely quick and less painful for the client. Using Tandem Point therapy, I was able to help a 64-year-old woman walk under her own power after 9.5 years using a walker, and this dramatic improvement took only three sessions. The results I obtain from Tandem Point therapy have brought me many physician referrals, which make up the majority of my practice. My clients can hardly believe how fast they get out of pain when they've been in pain so long. My word of mouth is tremendous. If your goal is to help others get out of pain, this is the class."
Brian Thomas, C.M.T., Green Brook, NJ
| | "Tandem Point is the best of both eastern and western concepts blended into powerful result-oriented sessions. It leaves standard medical massage in a cloud of dust, as it opens up restricted areas quickly and easily."
Peter and Louise Mahoney, Newton, NJ
| | "If you really want to be an effective bodyworker, Tandem Point therapy is the course for you. The combination of acupressure, Chinese theory, and trigger points provide almost instant relief for long-standing restrictions."
Karen E. Yanco, L.M.T., New York, NY
| | “As a massage therapist, it is my desire to assist people in relieving pain, thereby enabling them to relax and reclaim that part of their life that had been captured by pain. This method [Tandem Point therapy] provides the means to do just that. This was an absolutely awesome seminar and it ended much too soon. Thank you, Rena!”
Kay A. Jantzen, Lincoln, NE.
| | “Wow! This method [Tandem Point therapy] provided the integration between Eastern and Western approaches that I was looking for. Simple. Brilliant. Rena’s teaching style is responsive to the needs that emerge in the room. She’s a walking encyclopedia. Thank you!”
Patrick Davis, M.A., L.M.T., Omaha, NE.
| | “Simply put, Tandem Point work is awesome! It addresses problems that I often see in my massage practice as well as severe problems that the western medical professionals say cannot be helped. What is so spectacular about Tandem Point therapy is that you see immediate and dramatic results.”
Colleen Mullenex, C.M.T., Mountain View, CA
| | “I feel that this [Tandem Point Therapy for the Shoulder] has been the most valuable class I have taken for practical, immediate results for my clients.”
Pam Larsen, R.N., C.M.T., Hanford, CA
| | “Tandem Point therapy brings a completion to therapy for comprehensive pain management (eradication). I see this therapy as providing the missing link from my formal massage training and energy work, Jin Shin, and shiatsu. It is a really critical piece that can be easily incorporated into my work, and I anticipate great results immediately. Rena is an organized and succinct instructor.”
Mary Uebersax, C.M.T., L.M.T., Atascadero, CA
| | "I have been a certified neuromuscular therapist for 13 years. I get good to excellent results. But I think Rena is onto more--more tools in the toolbox. The quick effectiveness [of Tandem Point therapy] and scar tissue release are quite amazing. Rena is a talented therapist with a lot to teach."
Terry L. Rogers, N.M.T., M.T., Trenton, NJ
| | "I was not expecting this class to be as valuable as it turned out to be. I learned that my C-section scar affected my neck, which freed up instantly [with scar tissue release]. Thank you for a wonderful class. This will be a major part of my therapy for my clients."
Patricia Galofaro, NCTMB, Mahwah, NJ
| | "The theory and presentation [in Introduction to Tandem Point therapy] were in-depth and open the door to dramatic healing possibilities. The class exquisitely blends eastern and western theory and practice."
Karen Petersen, Exercise Physiologist, C.M.T., Mahwah, NJ
| | "Tandem Point therapy is ideal for someone in the field of bodywork who would like to incorporate the techniques and skills of several different modalities (such as shiatsu, acupressure, trigger point therapy, etc.) to help alleviate pain. It is a fast, valuable alternative to more invasive solutions, such as surgery."
Gino DiTeodoro, C.M.T., Philadelphia, PA
| | “Rena is an excellent instructor. She is passionate and innovative in her work and instruction. I was able to apply the Tandem Point principles immediately in my work. I am looking forward to using Tandem Point more in my practice and taking more classes in the future.”
Mia Nomoto, NCTMB, Menlo Park, CA | 
| P.O. Box 1023, Haddonfield, NJ 08033 | |
