HODA-A is not just another training — it’s a seismic shift in how we understand, teach, and apply manual therapy.
This is the world’s first data-driven, calibration-based, hands-on assessment system.
You’ll learn skills that will set you apart as a next-generation clinician — equipped to make touch both measurable and defensible.
✔ Grounded in neuroscience and biomechanics
✔ Evidence-informed, yet practically applied
✔ The only system designed to measure hands-on touch
✔ For clinicians who want defensible, reliable, and scientific skillsets
No more guesswork. Every palpation, every assessment, every technique would yield reproducible, defensible data — transforming clinical decisions into evidence-led actions.
Manual therapists would stand shoulder to shoulder with radiologists, surgeons, and physicians. Why? Because their hands would measure, detect, and interpret with the same level of trust as imaging — and often faster.
Patients would be assessed faster, treated more accurately, and recover with more clarity — reducing unnecessary referrals and building confidence in care.
Be the clinician who raises the bar. By mastering HODA-A, you’re not only elevating your own practice—you’re helping shape the future of education, mentorship, and standards in manual therapy. Your commitment today sets the benchmark for tomorrow.
With HODA-A training and calibration, therapists from London to Helsinki, Cape Town to Toronto would be speaking the same clinical language — no matter their background or discipline.
Hands become instruments, not just tools. Therapy becomes measurable, replicable, and globally recognized. MSK healthcare would shift from being often subjective… to consistently scientific.
Objective: Understand the why behind HODA-A — and why it’s changing everything. This short course gives you a high-level overview of HODA-A, the science behind touch, and why hands-on data acquisition is essential in modern healthcare. You’ll discover how HODA-A differs from traditional palpation, and how the Reflective Recursive Loop can train your hands to be repeatable and reliable instruments of clinical insight. 📍 100% Online | ⏱️ 6 Hours | 💰 £495
Objective: Build essential skills in touch perception, sensory calibration, and neurophysiological understanding. This level lays the groundwork for clinical excellence. You’ll explore how your brain interprets touch, why accuracy in palpation is so elusive, and how to begin calibrating your hands to gather meaningful data from human tissue. 📍 80% Online, 20% Face-to-Face | ⏱️ 16 Hours | 💰 £1,750
Objective: Learn to perform defensible, repeatable assessments using HODA-A's validated methods. At this stage, you’ll begin using HODA-A in real-time clinical settings. This level focuses on repeatability, precision, and how to challenge flawed paradigms in manual therapy using data-backed techniques. You’ll also explore the limitations of past palpation research — and how HODA-A corrects them. 📍 50% Online, 50% Face-to-Face | ⏱️ 32 Hours | 💰 £3,250
Objective: Master patient-specific calibration, refine your sensory training, and deepen your clinical reasoning. Here, you’ll advance your touch intelligence and learn to calibrate your assessments for individual variability. This level is also where you begin training others, supporting students and peers in refining their touch under clinical pressure. 📍 40% Online, 60% Face-to-Face | ⏱️ 32 Hours| 💰 £4,500
Objective: Become a global leader in hands-on diagnostics and help shape the next generation of touch-based healthcare. This elite-level training prepares you to teach, mentor, assess, and lead within the HODA-A ecosystem. You’ll learn to deliver high-stakes calibration training, supervise assessments, and drive research that shapes the field of manual therapy. 📍 30% Online, 70% Face-to-Face | ⏱️ 24 Hours | 💰 £5,750
The HODA-A Re-Calibrate Day is your essential annual checkpoint for hands-on clinical precision. As a certified clinician, you’re encouraged to calibrate solo daily—but group recalibration at least once per year is critical for maintaining accuracy, awareness, and alignment with the evolving HODA-A standard. This powerful session reconnects you with peer benchmarking, guided feedback, and the latest updates in tactile assessment—so your hands stay sharp, consistent, and confident.
As a HODA-A student, you’ll get exclusive access to live Zoom discussions with Dr. Jo Abbott — your chance to ask questions, share clinical insights, and troubleshoot real-world challenges alongside a global community of like-minded practitioners.
These sessions are more than Q&As — they’re your ongoing bridge between theory and practice, led by the creator of HODA-A herself. Stay supported, stay inspired, and be part of the movement redefining hands-on therapy with precision and purpose.
Your hands are your tools. Let’s make them gold standard — together.
“Finally research that resonates with how we actually practice as manual therapists; that takes in all the nuances of what we do beyond just taking in information from our mechanoreceptors. I’m very excited to see where this leads; what research stems from this, how it evolves our teaching methods, and how it changes the landscape of rehabilitation.”
“Finally, a study that makes sense of what I feel logically and intuitively when I put my hands on my patients as I try to sort out their issues. I am blown away.”
“HODA-A is giving musculoskeletal healthcare professionals a clear framework explaining what happens during active touch; something that science has failed to do before.”
“The importance of valid and reliable manual assessments in evaluating and treatment to achieve a stable jaw ( TMJ) and normal oromyofacial function such as swallowing and breathing are fundamental in helping a huge variety of patients suffering with various dysfunctions, disabilities and chronic pain.”
“After listening to Jo’s presentation, I am more focused on trying to critically evaluate my own practical assessment techniques in an attempt to add validity and reliability to my findings, and therefore improve the quality of service I offer to my clients.“
“The idea of this research project impressed me much at the very beginning because the accuracy and validity of palpation are the keystones of manual therapy. Our professional education is waiting for a quantifiable standard on palpation as well as other physical tests. This research project will make a new page on the development of training and clinical practice and our profession.”
“Jo’s research is remarkable in that it explores dimensions of manual therapy that practitioners have pondered and discussed for decades, but not actually identified or quantified. I suspect her results will be a noteworthy addition to how manual therapy is conceptualized and taught in the future—perhaps across disciplines.”
“At last, with HODA-A, a framework and language to describe a gold standard for hands on clinical assessment that challenges the simplification of hands-on practise previously assumed in research, and presents great opportunity to positively impact future education, especially in nurturing new and returning practitioners within and across professions – let the fun begin!”
Progressive Learning: Each level builds upon the previous one, ensuring skill development is structured and validated.
Hands-On & Theoretical Balance: Blended learning allows mastery of both scientific principles and practical application.
Scientific & Evidence-Based: The curriculum is rooted in research-based touch science, ensuring practitioners are competent and confident.
Flexibility: Online and face-to-face options allow accessibility for all learners.
Introduction Certification → Prerequisite for Foundation Certification
Foundation Certification → Prerequisite for Practitioner Certification
Practitioner Certification → Prerequisite for Advanced Practitioner Certification
Advanced Practitioner Certification → Prerequisite for Expert & Mentor Certification
Due to the paradigm-shifting nature of HODA-A and the new evidence base supporting this methodology, there are no exceptions to level progression.
All participants — regardless of prior experience, qualifications, or clinical background — must begin at Level 1: Introduction Certification and complete each stage in sequence.
Even highly experienced manual therapists must build new sensory, perceptual, and calibration skills that are unique to HODA-A and not taught in any traditional training.
This ensures a shared foundation of knowledge, skill, and reliability across all certified practitioners.
✔ Building a Strong Knowledge Base: The introduction and foundation levels establish the fundamental concepts of touch science, sensorimotor integration, and calibration.
✔ Ensuring Hands-On Reliability: Before moving to advanced and clinical applications, practitioners must demonstrate consistent repeatability and accuracy in assessments.
✔ Scientific Progression: The methodology follows a structured learning model, ensuring practitioners develop their skills in a logical, evidence-based sequence.
✔ Defensibility & Standardization: The prerequisite system ensures that every certified practitioner has mastered the necessary competencies before advancing.
Sign up to receive the latest updates on HODA-A events, webinars, research, and resources—designed for clinicians who believe in the power of precision touch. Whether you're exploring or already enrolled, HODA-A In-Touch keeps you calibrated, informed, and part of the movement. ✔ Be the first to hear about upcoming events, webinars, and certification dates ✔ Get updates on new research, resources, and training opportunities ✔ Receive exclusive content designed to deepen your understanding of evidence-based manual therapy Fill in your details below and join the growing movement reshaping hands-on care.
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