On Thursday, September 14th, 2024 it was finally time for the “Back to the Roots” event in Goldegg, Austria. The location of Goldegg Castle offered a beautiful and fitting backdrop for the event. 

Before “Back to the Roots” could begin, examinations for the international certificate took place Thursday morning. We are proud to announce that we now have four new FDM-IC therapists.

Congratulations again to Karolina Maleta, Dirk Holger Weissensel, Mike Costerus, and Marcus Rohrbach.

The General Assembly followed at  2:00 p.m. Former FDM President Lukas Trimmel opened the assembly with a beautiful and emotional speech in which he announced that, after 6 years, he would be leaving his position as President.  Thank you to Lukas for the amazing job, no matter how demanding the circumstances.

Following Lukas`s speech, suggestions for new board members were proposed.  Georg Harrer took on the role of the independent election officer.

Evgeny Haimov was unanimously elected by the many EFDMA members present as the new President for the next 2 years. Again, congratulations Evgeny Haimov! May your positive, unshakable character be a great source of strength for the work ahead. 

We also welcome  Vice-President Ayhan Güdük M.D., Secretary Selena Dressel, Deputy Secretary Piotr Rybacki Msc., and Board member Marcel August Mahlert to the newly elected Board of EFDMA.

The lectures and workshops kicked off at 5 p.m. 

Special thanks to the instructors of the American FDM Association (AFDMA) Bryan Perkins, Matt Booth, and Todd Capistrant, who spared no expense and effort to attend the event and share their knowledge and experience with us!

Also let’s not forget Dr. Gerd Reuther, who gave insight into the medical history of healing itself in his lecture.

Around 8:00 p.m., a cozy get-together began in the vaulted room of the castle. We shared a great meal and had a chance to get to know our colleagues in an amazing atmosphere.

Friday started at 8:30 a.m. with a variety of diverse and interesting lectures.

Special mention should be made of the lecture by Dr. Eugen Maria Schulak, an FDM outsider, who took a philosophical approach to  FDM, as well as the live connection with our colleagues in Japan.

Ryohei Miura gave a live presentation from Japan, in which he shared his insightful study on the treatment of ankle injuries. Many thanks to the colleagues from the Japanese FDM Association for this opportunity!

The afternoon was dedicated to the Science Contest. Piotr Rybacki presented his Case Report on the successful treatment of a clavicle fracture.

Attila Kollarics presented an elaborate pilot study on the treatment of ankle sprains and Amin Mohammadi gave insights on the treatment of chronic ankle instability.

Georg Harrer’s closing speech managed to infect all of us with his enthusiasm and clarity of FDM.

The fantastic party in the evening with lots of good food and tasty drinks offered a great end to the day.

We enjoyed an active start on Saturday at 9:00 a.m., thanks to Beatrix Baumgartner, who offered a challenging fascial fitness program followed by a walk, which was a great way to end the event in Goldegg.

A big thank you, goes out to  everyone who attended the event and looking forward to many more in the future!

-Marcel Mahlert, EFDMA board