Muscles, Bones, and Movement
First 10 Weeks
You'll be able to:
- Name and locate the bones on a diagram
- Name and locate the muscles on a diagram
- Know the attachments and actions for each muscle
- Understand the structure and action of each joint
- Understand how muscles activate
- Understand how the muscular and nervous systems interact
- Understand the properties of myofascia
Palpation and Basic Skills
First 10 Weeks
You will:
- Learn and practice basic client/therapist on-table communication and informed consent
- Understand the elements and importance of therapist hygiene
- Understand the elements and importance of massage room sanitation
- Learn and practice draping for modesty, comfort, and compliance with the law and code of ethics
- Develop a confident therapeutic touch
- Learn to identify individual muscles by location and action
- Learn to communicate with the client to activate the desired muscles
- Practice locating bony landmarks
- Practice locating specific muscles
Self Care for the Massage Therapist
First 2 Weeks
You'll learn about:
- Conditioning and cross training for massage
- Warming up physically for a day of massage
- Meditating to enable presence and clarity
- Rest and nutrition
- Body Mechanics
- Injury prevention
- Practitioner safety and PPE
- "Energetic" and Emotional protection
- Maintaining principles
General Anatomy and Physiology
Weeks 3 -10
You will be familiar with the composition, structure, and function of:
- Cells
- The nervous system
- The endocrine system
- The circulatory system
- The respiratory system
- The digestive system
- Bones
- Skeletal muscles
- Fascia and connective tissue
Benefits and Limitations of Massage
Weeks 11-14
You'll understand how massage effects:
- Muscle tissue
- Proprioceptors
- Connective tissue
- Fascia of all types
- The endocrine system
- The circulatory system, including lymph
- Nerves
- The central nervous system
- Thoughts and emotions
Technique and Skill Development
Weeks 11-18
You'll practice:
- Effleurage
- Petrissage
- Tapotement
- Holding
- Stretching
- Body mechanics
- Communicating with the client
- Guided engagement
- Receiving massage
- The common modalities (Swedish, deep tissue, mofascial, sports, chair)
Assessment and Planning
Weeks 15-19
You'll learn how to:
- Visually assess posture, gait, and skin and circulatory condition
- Assess the condition of muscles through palpation
- Assess the condition of circulation through palpation
- Perform active and passive range of motion assessment
- Perform a verbal and written intake and history
- Understand how and when to treat special populations
- Set appropriate goals for each massage session
- Set appropriate goals for longer term massage relationship
- Formulate strategies to achieve those goals
- Evaluate the response to previous treatment and adjust strategies and goals accordingly
Pathology and Contraindications
Weeks 11-15
You'll understand:
- An overview of Pathology
- Types of medication
- General contraindications
- Local contraindications
- Pathological contraindications
- Contraindications to certain applications, special populations, and certain tools
- Medications that contraindicate or caution massage
- Areas of caution
Communication
This course contains essential topics that will be learned and assessed in other courses.
You'll learn about:
- The art of a great intake
- Taking an appropriate clinical history
- Professional communication and vocabulary
- Boundaries
- Confidentiality
- Managing expectations
- Robust informed consent
- Body language
- Non-verbal cues
- Effective interfacing with the central nervous system
Tools and Lubrication
Week 11
You'll be familiar with using:
- Heat
- Cold
- Cups
- Vibration
- Scraping
- Sticks, balls, rollers, and other manual aids
- Different types of lubricant
Ethics and WV Law for LMT's
Weeks 16-19
You'll understand:
- The scope of practice of massage therapy
- The massage therapists' code of ethics
- Avoiding sexual misconduct
- Handling sexual misconduct
- Professional ethics
- Professional boundaries
- The therapeutic relationship
- Responsibility and safety
- Laws applying to massage therapists in West Virginia
- The requirements and procedures for gaining and maintaining licensure
Adjunctive, Auxilary, and Specialized
Weeks 19-21
You'll explore areas like:
- Thai massage
- Reflexology
- Acupressure
- Ashiatsu
- Craniosacral therapy
- Assisted stretching
- Aromatherapy
- Energy work
- Breath work, guided meditation, and hypnotherapy
- Homework and prescriptive stretching
Massage Therapy Business
Weeks 25-27
You'll understand:
- Business planning
- Strategic planning
- Office management
- Marketing
- Hiring and interviewing
- Client records
- Business records
- Setting up a professional massage space
Massage in Context
Weeks 20-24
You will:
- Be familiar with the history of massage traditions around the world.
- Understand the role and perceptions of massage in the field of health care.
MBLEx Test Preparation
Weeks 28-31
You'll review all the topics covered by the MBLEx and practice test taking.
Supervised Clinical Practice
Weeks 22-30
You'll gain confidence with:
- Intake
- Planning
- Draping
- Table manners
- Performing the foundational modalities
- Sanitation
- Communication
- Timing