Beyond Muscles: Pain, Posture, and Bodywork through the Lens of Neuroscience
Beyond Muscles: Pain, Posture, and Bodywork through the Lens of Neuroscience
Beyond Muscles: Pain, Posture & Bodywork Through the Lens of Neuroscience
On-Demand CE Training for Manual & Movement Professionals
This livestream series has now concluded. You may purchase full lifetime access to all session recordings, course materials, CE exam, and certification.
Step beyond traditional musculoskeletal thinking and explore pain, posture, and manual therapy through the powerful and practical lens of modern neuroscience. This recorded three-part series, taught by neuroscience expert and licensed bodyworker Dr. Mark Olson, PhD, LMT, offers an accessible, clinically grounded pathway to understanding how the brain, body, and lived experience interact to shape pain and movement.
Designed for therapists, trainers, and rehabilitation professionals, this course bridges cutting-edge science with hands-on practice—helping you work more effectively, safely, and compassionately with clients experiencing pain and postural challenges.
What’s Included
Lifetime on-demand access to the complete three-session webinar series, together with:
- Downloadable course workbook
- Companion course
- Online CE exam
- Downloadable certificate issued after successful exam completion
Session 1: Rethinking Pain, Posture & Manual Therapy
Discover what pain truly is—and what it isn’t. Dr. Olson breaks down:
- The difference between nociception and pain
- Pain as a constructed sensory experience
- Sensitization and descending modulation
- Endocrine and immune system influences
This session reframes pain as an adaptable, brain-driven process, providing a vital foundation for all manual and movement professionals.
Session 2: The Neuroscience of Posture & How Bodywork Works
Explore posture as an adaptive behavioural output, influenced by:
- Nociception
- Emotions
- Interoception
- Social roles and habits
Then dive into what makes bodywork effective—the science behind interoception, c-fibers, deep sensation versus deep pressure, and how therapeutic relationship, context, and intentional input shape outcomes. Learn evidence-informed mechanisms such as ascending and descending inhibition, relieving nervi nervorum, distraction, pleasure, and more.
Session 3: Ethics, Safety, Scope & Clinical Applications
This recorded discussion and Q&A session focuses on:
- Creating implicit safety in the treatment environment
- Avoiding nocebos
- Respecting the body’s adaptive strategies
- Understanding therapeutic boundaries through a neuroscience lens
Dr. Olson unpacks complex cases and provides nuanced guidance to support safer, more effective care.
About the Instructor
Dr. Mark Olson, PhD, LMT, holds a doctorate in Neuroscience and a master’s degree in Education from the University of Illinois, with specialization in cognitive and behavioral neuropsychology and neuroanatomy. His research includes memory, attention, eye movements, and aesthetic processing.
In addition to his academic expertise, Dr. Olson is a licensed massage therapist, a certified NARM® practitioner, an experienced aquatic therapist, and a published author on chronic pain and trauma-informed care.
Why Professionals Value This Training
- Clear integration of science and practice: Learn modern neuroscience in a practical, accessible way.
- Real treatment-room demonstrations: Clinical relevance woven throughout.
- Lifetime access: Rewatch and deepen your understanding at your own pace.
- Supporting materials included: Course workbook, companion course, notes, resources, and study aids.
- CE Certification: Complete the online exam to earn accredited Continuing Education credits (US, Canada, Australia, UK). Your downloadable certificate is issued upon successful completion.