Clinical Thai Bodywork Certification Trainings
Thai Bodywork Treatments for Chronic Pain and Dysfunction
Pain is at epidemic proportions in our society, and unfortunately, western medical treatments are often ineffective at treating such common pain conditions as headaches, frozen shoulder, knee pain, plantar fascitis back pain, tennis elbow, and many other diagnoses. Dr. Janet Travell cited studies showing that over 80% of reported pain symptoms in the clinics studied had myofascial origins, and could best be addressed by manipulative therapy on muscles.
Chuck Duff has focused on treating chronic pain through his career, treating musicians, athletes, dancers and others whose ability to work was compromised by chronic pain and postural dysfunction. He developed Clinical Thai Bodywork as a modality that grew out of his highly successful practice integrating Thai bodywork, trigger point therapy, acupoint approaches and other therapeutic bodywork principles. This program of study is unique in the bodywork field, and provides the student with tools to build a very successful practice by addressing the true causes of pain conditions.
Many, if not most pain conditions can be completely addressed using the principles of Clinical Thai Bodywork, which combines the efficient and powerful treatment techniques of Thai bodywork with state of the art western tools for analysis and assessment. Students are taught how to find the true causes of pain, distinguish conditions that require medical treatment, develop a treatment plan, document findings and therapy, interact with medical practitioners, isolate muscles that produce specific pain patterns, use Thai bodywork techniques appropriate to the specific condition, assess results and provide self-care recommendations to the client.
The Clinical Thai Bodywork program builds upon the core curriculum requirements for Certified Thai Bodywork Practitioner: Thai Massage Levels 1-3, Anatomy and HandsFree Thai 1. CTB1 presents the fundamental principles of Clinical Thai Bodywork in detail. Although recomended, it is not necessary for the student to take CTB1 prior to the other CTB trainings, as they each deal with applications in a specific area of the body. Prior to entering the CTB curriculum, students must have a foundation in anatomy and have taken at least Thai Massage levels 1 and 2. Level 3 and HandsFree, although not required, are very useful.
Often, Thai massage students are left with ill-defined, vague skills when confronted with specific pain problems, even after extensive training at other schools. We welcome students to the CTB program who have studied with other teachers. Any practitioner who can reliably address pain will see their practice grow, and many of our students have established thriving practices based on CTB.
>> Upcoming Dates:
CTB 2: Lumbar, Sacral and Hip Pain: This course focuses on lumbar, sacral, gluteal and hip pain applications of Clinical Thai Bodywork, a modality developed by Chuck Duff that blends the techniques of Thai yoga massage with acupoint and trigger point systems and a structural analysis of body function. Starts 26 Sep 08 (1 weekend) Schedule: Fri 6-10PM, Sat-Sun 10 AM-6 PM Location: 537 Custer Ave. Suite 3, Evanston, IL 60202 More...
CTB 3: Thoracic, Chest and Abdominal Pain: This course focuses on thoracic, chest and abdominal pain applications of Clinical Thai Bodywork, a modality developed by Chuck Duff that blends the techniques of Thai yoga massage with acupoint and trigger point systems and a structural analysis of body function. Starts 24 Oct 08 (1 weekend) Schedule: Fri 6-10 PM, Sat-Sun 10 AM-6 PM Location: 537 Custer Ave. Suite 3, Evanston, IL 60202 More...
CTB 4: Headache, Neck and Facial Pain: This course focuses on headache, neck and facial pain applications of Clinical Thai Bodywork, a modality developed by Chuck Duff that blends the techniques of Thai yoga massage with acupoint and trigger point systems and a structural analysis of body function. Starts 21 Nov 08 (1 weekend) Schedule: Fri 6-10 PM, Sat-Sun 10 AM-6 PM Location: 537 Custer Ave. Suite 3, Evanston, IL 60202 More...
Thai Massage Training Upcoming Events
- Level 1 : 05 Sep 08 More...
- LPK : 19 Sep 08 More...
- CTB2 : 26 Sep 08 More...
- Level 1 : 03 Oct 08 More...
- HandsFreeL1 : 17 Oct 08 More...
- CTB3 : 24 Oct 08 More...
- Level 1 : 07 Nov 08 More...
- CTB4 : 21 Nov 08 More...
- Level 1 : 05 Dec 08 More...
- Level 1 : 02 Jan 09 More...
- Level 2 : 07 Jan 09 More...
- Level 3 : 16 Jan 09 More...
- HandsFreeL2 : 29 Aug 08 Florida (Orlando More...
- Level 1 : 12 Sep 08 Flagstaff, Az. 9 More...
- Level 1 : 12 Sep 08 Oshkosh, WI http More...
- Level 1 : 19 Sep 08 Manchester, NH h More...
- Intro 4hr : 26 Sep 08 Flagstaff, Az @ More...
- Level 1 : 03 Oct 08 Oshkosh, WI htt More...
- Level 1 : 10 Oct 08 Manchester,NH ht More...
Courses in Other Cities
Thai Bodywork Program Overview
All of our Thai massage training courses are structured as weekend intensives. Level 1: Thai Massage Fundamentals ( 20 hours, 17 CE contact hours) is a 1-weekend class that is taught monthly.
Level 2 (Southern style, 40 hours) and Level 3 (Nuad Boran Northern Style, 70 hours) are taught 2-3 times per year. Basic professional certification consists of levels 1-3, totalling 130 hours.

