MANZ Conference 2026

MANZ Conference 2026 - Pain Management for self & others

On behalf of Massage Aotearoa New Zealand (MANZ), it gives us great pleasure to invite you to attend our Pre-Conference Workshop, National Conference and AGM to be held at Ara Institute of Canterbury, Ōtautahi | Christchurch from the 18th to 20th of September 2026.

Self-care is not selfish; it is an act of self-respect that reflects our core value of Whakaute/Respect. This conference invites you to deepen the incredible skill of recognising pain, holding safe space for its complexities, and valuing your own well-being equally to your clients'.

Together, we will explore how the lymph system, perimenopause, and breathing patterns influence pain. Join us to discover practical tools ranging from hypoxic breathwork and self-massage to hands-on clinical therapy and compassionate communication.

Location: Ara Institute of Canterbury, City campus | Madras Street, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8011

Full Weekend (Sat & Sun) — RMT Early Bird (Before 19/08)	$449
Full Weekend (Sat & Sun) — RMT Standard (After 19/08)	$499
Full Weekend (Sat & Sun) — Non-Member	$599
Day Pass (Saturday or Sunday)	$275
Student Rate	$250

Please note that presentation allocations are strictly first-come, first-served. We recommend reviewing the briefs and schedule in advance to ensure your preferred sessions align.

Pre Conference Workshop (Friday 18th of September)

Clinical Scope | Advanced Clinical Treatment Specifics

Please note: To ensure this intensive one-day session can dive immediately into advanced clinical applications, this workshop is specifically tailored for practitioners Level 6 qualification or higher. Participants should have an established baseline in clinical reasoning and advanced hands-on assessment to get the full value from this session.

RMT Member — Early Bird (Before 19/08) | $179

RMT Member — Standard (After 19/08) | $199

BACKS TO THE FUTURE – aka; my bulging disc is bigger than your bulging disc

This five and a half-hour pre-conference workshop will explore back and pelvic pain from a soft-tissue and neuromuscular therapy (NMT) perspective. Along the way you will appreciate the contributions

of the soft-tissue luminaries Janda, Vleeming, Travell and Simons, Chaitow, Dommerholt, Fernandez-de-las-Penas, Liebenson, and Jonas; mostly not household names.

After an introduction, students will learn to take a meaningful history, conduct a short but effective physical assessment, form a treatment plan, implement said plan and finish with a reassessment.

A homecare activity (HCA) will help reinforce any gains.

Muscle groups covered include the erectors, multifidi, QL, hip flexors, gluteals, TFL and deep lateral rotators.

Along the way you will learn how healing works, make use of placebo, understand lower-crossed syndrome and stratification theories, accurately know exactly what muscle you are on, implement ‘CoCo’, refute bulging discs as sources of pain, disprove most leg-length-inequalities and make use of pain science education.