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.

Gain lifetime access to the complete recorded series, course workbook, companion course, exam, and downloadable CE certificate.

CE Finder

This course has been approved for continuing education by professional boards and associations. Scroll through the list to find your board or association.

Course: Beyond Muscles: Pain, Posture, and Bodywork
Approvals Listed: 64
CE Broker Provider: #20-1343528 Approvals in alphabetical order Alabama Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Alabama Board of Physical Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy *General* Approved Hours: 5 Alaska Board of Massage Therapists Approved Hours: 5 American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (ACBSP) Approved Hours: 5 Arizona Board of Occupational Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Arkansas Board of Massage Approved Hours: 5 Association of Massage Therapists (AMT) Approved Hours: 5 Australian Traditional Medicine Society Approved Hours: 5 Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC) Approved Hours: 5 CEU/CPD Self-Cert Approved Hours: 5 Chiropractic Board of Australia Approved Hours: 5 College of Complementary Health Professionals of British Columbia (CCHPBC) Approved Hours: 5 College of Massage Therapists of New Brunswick (CMTNB) Approved Hours: 5 College of Massage Therapists of Newfoundland and Labrador (CMTNL) Approved Hours: 5 College of Massage Therapists Ontario (CMTO) Approved Hours: 5 College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia (CNPBC) Approved Hours: 5 Connecticut Board of Chiropractors Approved Hours: 5 Connecticut Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Deleware Board of Massage and Bodywork Approved Hours: 5 Distrcit of Columbia Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Florida Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Georgia Board of Massage Therapy *General* Approved Hours: 5 Georgia Board of Nursing Approved Hours: 5 Georgia State Board of Occupational Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Indiana Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Iowa Board of Chiropractic Approved Hours: 5 Iowa Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Kansas Chiropractic Association Approved Hours: 5 Maine Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Maryland Board of Massage Therapy Examiners Approved Hours: 5 Massage Therapists' Association of Nova Scotia (MTANS) Approved Hours: 5 Massage Therapy Assc of Manitoba (MTAM) Approved Hours: 5 Massage Therapy Assc of Saskatchewan (MTAS) Approved Hours: 5 Mississippi State Board of Massage Therapy (MSBMT) Approved Hours: 5 Missouri Board of Therapeutic Massage Approved Hours: 5 Missouri State Board of Chiropractic Examiners Approved Hours: 5 Montana Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB) Approved Hours: 5 Natural Health Practitioners of Canada (NHPC) Approved Hours: 5 NCBTMB - New York Approved Hours: 5 Nebraska Massage Licensure Board Approved Hours: 5 Nevada Board of Massage Therapists Approved Hours: 5 New Hampshire Advisory Board of Massage Therapists Approved Hours: 5 New Jersey Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy Approved Hours: 5 North Carolina Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy Approved Hours: 5 North Dakota Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Ohio Chiropractic Board Approved Hours: 5 Oklahoma Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners Approved Hours: 5 Oregon Board of Massage Therapists Approved Hours: 5 Pennsylvania State Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Prince Edward Island Massage Therapy Association (PEIMTA) Approved Hours: 5 Registered Massage Therapists' Association of Ontario (RMTAO) Approved Hours: 5 South Carolina Massage/Bodywork Panel Approved Hours: 5 South Dakota Board of Massage Therapy Approved Hours: 5 Tennessee Board of Massage Licensure Approved Hours: 5 Virginia Department of Health Professions (Massage Therapy) Approved Hours: 5 Washington Board of Massage Approved Hours: 5 Washington Board of Physical Therapy Approved Hours: 5 West Virginia Massage Licensure Board Approved Hours: 5 Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (Athletic Training) Approved Hours: 5 Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (Massage Therapy) Approved Hours: 5

Approval requirements can change. Please confirm acceptance with your own board, association, employer, or regulatory authority before registration.