The History of F.A.P. Seminars

Functional Anatomic Palpation Systems© was created and developed by Sports Specialist Chiropractor, Medical Acupuncturist, and Certified Personal Trainer Specialist Dr. Andreo A. Spina.

After graduation from McMaster University with a degree in Kinesiology, Dr. Spina attended and graduated with summa cum laude honors from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, and later completed a two year post doctor fellowship in Sports Sciences.

During his studies, Dr. Spina received various academic awards including the ‘John W.A. Duckworth Award’ for the highest standing in Human Anatomy and Histology. With a strong background and interest in human anatomy, he became a tudor in the human anatomy lab at his educational institution. While teaching cadaver dissection, Dr. Spina soon realized that the methods used to teach manual practitioners human anatomy was flawed for several reasons.

While the curriculum strongly focused on textbook anatomy and memorization, it failed to translate that knowledge into palpatory skills needed for assessing and treating real patients. Dr. Spina then set out to discover if other manual discipline human anatomy courses (Physiotherapy, Massage Therapy, Athletic Therapy, Medical School, etc.) were also lacking in this regard and to his surprise, they absolutely were!

Dr. Spina also attended numerous seminars, lectures, and conferences on soft tissue assessment and manual treatment techniques. There he also noticed the lack of consistency surrounding anatomic palpation, both between seminars, as well as between various instructors teaching at the same seminar! Many system and techniques emphasized the importance of anatomic specificity, however none provided the necessary instruction on how to achieve it.

The ability to differentiate between anatomic structure using palpation needs to be learned, practiced and then practiced some more! It is not enough to memorize the colorful ‘cartoonish’ picture recreations of human anatomy found in textbooks, nor is it sufficient to assume that you know how to locate a tissue because you have memorized its insertion points.

Human anatomy is extremely variable from person to person, thus to specifically, and confidently differentiate between structures you must employ a sound system. Using a combination of textbook knowledge, knowledge gained from hundreds of hours in the anatomy lab teaching and dissecting human tissue, and from experience utilizing various treatment and assessment techniques, such a system was developed. Functional Anatomic Palpation Systems© Anatomy Seminars provide the skills necessary to rely on palpatory findings, specifically locate and diagnose soft tissue dysfunction, and enhance application specificity of any and all manual treatment techniques.