When he was a marathoner at the top of his game, James Waslaski never imagined he'd go into the Hall of Fame-much less that his induction would result, in a roundabout way, from injuries that hampered his ability to compete. A nugget of inspiration may lie in the explanation.
Decades before he would be recognized as one of today's pioneers and leaders in orthopedic massage, Waslaski took a sports massage class to troubleshoot his nagging Achilles heel injuries. "I took sports massage as a hobby because I was an athlete. Now I'm going to be inducted into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame this year. It shows you've got to keep an open mind of where this profession can take you," he says.
Waslaski did not start out with orthopedic massage in mind at all. During a 20-year career as a trauma center paramedic, he also assisted an orthopedic surgeon. "I realized many of these surgical procedures would have been preventable had the client kept the muscles and body in balance," he says.
He decided to do something about it. In 1989 he completed massage training at Suncoast School of Massage in Tampa. In 1996, he founded The Center for Pain Management, a Dallas-area corporation serving as an umbrella for an array of orthopedic massage products and services, including Continuing Education Unit (CEU) seminars and classes.
Waslaski says that what sets his courses and seminars apart from the rest is a three-pronged approach to treatment. He teaches the combination of assessment (pinpointing the problem), multidisciplinary treatment, and client self-care. He stresses a respect for all modalities of massage, whether it's myoskeletal alignment, myofascial release or neuromuscular massage therapy. (In fact, Waslaski attests that, as a result of the massage methods he teaches today, he is pain-free and could start marathoning again at age 52.)
A passionate teacher and student, he urges massage therapists-whether just beginning or well-established in the profession-to keep getting better. "The more tools you have in your toolbox, the better your outcome," he says. "I'm always taking workshops. When I teach at a convention, I'll lead one workshop then attend the others."
To find out more about Waslaski's CEU classes and seminars, visit http://www.orthomassage.net/ or call 1-800-643-5543. You can also sign up for Waslaski's pre-convention workshop at the AMTA National Convention.