MBLEx Practice Exam Questions with Answers Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination Certification

The O is for objective, which is based on a therapist’s visual and physical findings of the client.

A

The massage code of ethics is a standard of conduct that defines ethical behavior for a massage therapist. The question lists principles of the massage code of ethics.

Psychosomatic pain is often caused by emotional distress and thus has no know physical cause. Psychosomatic pain can be a result from a broken heart after a break up, feelings of being inadequate or from any number of depressive thought patterns.

The term anatomical snuff box or rather, “snuff box“ was coined by using the space between the tendons of the extensor pollicus longus and the extensor pollicus brevis (and the abductor pollicus longus) as a place to hold snuff tobacco.

Massage is contraindicated for fever and/or inflamed, swollen tissue. Osteomyelitis is a very serious infection that can result in amputation or possible death. Canceling the appointment and advising the client to seek immediate medical attention is the best course of action.

HOPS stands for History, Observation, Palpation and Special tests. HOPS is used to assess the client’s experience, provide a postural assessment, give a physical examination, and test the function and structure of the client’s body.

The Arndt-Schultz Law states that a weak stimulus will have no effect on a physiological process, that an intermediate stimulus will promote a physiological process whereas a strong stimulus will inhibit a physiological process.

The synergist or assisting muscle to the biceps brachii is the brachialis muscle.

A salt glow is a treatment in which the practitioner applies sea salts to the body in a rubbing fashion to exfoliate the skin.

There are two primary types of circulation systems in nature, one being open and the other being closed. In humans, the blood never leaves the intricate webbing of blood vessels and is thus considered a closed circulatory system. An open circulatory system is one where blood and interstitial fluid move freely within an organism, as in the case of gastropods, otherwise known as snails.

The purpose of the excretory system is to regulate the chemical composition of the body by removing metabolic waste and to monitor the proper amount of water, salts and nutrients. The integumentary, digestive and respiratory system all play a minor role in the excretory system. However, the urinary system is responsible for the excretion of fluid to maintain homeostasis.

The S is for subjective, which is a description of the client’s experience.

Reciprocal inhibition is used to relax a muscle on one side of a joint by contracting the muscle on the other side of the joint. This is used to assist the reduction of a muscular tonicity. Caution should be used to prevent a simultaneous contraction which could result in a cramp or muscle tear.

Boundaries are integral to maintaining a healthy physical and emotional space within the therapeutic relationship.

Inert tissues are those that are not contractile such as bone, bursa, blood vessels, cartilage, fat, ligaments, nerves and nerve coverings.

Federal and state law form the legal boundaries of the massage profession.

A client with pes cavus has a foot deformity characterized by an abnormally high medially longitudinal arch, also known as a high medial arch of the foot.

In almost all situations, the massage therapist needs to retain a strict confidentiality of the client’s information. However, there are certain exceptions, such as when the massage therapist feels in personal danger, when there are suspicions of a client abusing a child and whenever required by law.

When a therapist applies force against an active movement during an assessment, they are providing resistive ROM. This is used to test for muscle strength and weakness.

There are two bones that make the shoulder girdle - the clavicle and the scapula.

A valgum deformity is an outward angulation of the distal segment of a joint or bone. In other words, the knees will be angled medially and the feet will be angled laterally. Reverse this scenario to laterally angled knees and medially angled feet and you will see a varum deformity also known as bow legged.

The diaphragm muscle which extends across the bottom of the rib cage is the muscle responsible for initiating inhalation.

Olfaction is the sense of smell. Special sensory cells in the nasal cavity called olfactory sensors are designed to transmit the sense of smell via the detection of odor molecules.

The clavicle connects to the scapula at the acromion process and this juncture is called the acromioclavicular joint.

Crepitus is a crackling, grating or popping sound from joints or other subcutaneous tissue.

A condyle is a large rounded area on a bone, usually at a joint articulation. A trochanter is a large projection from a bone. A spine or spinous process is a flat ridge-like flange protruding from a bone, typically a vertebra.

Phasic muscles are fast twitch muscles which are prone to inhibition or fatigue. Muscles that are designed to move our bodies are typically phasic while muscles that are designed to hold our bodies upright are typically postural.

The cerebral cortex is the largest part of the brain and plays a key role in awareness, communication, consciousness and memory.

Muscle tone relates to a continuous muscle contraction that resists stretching or elongation during a resting state. In other words, muscle tone describes a muscle that is unable to relax.

The ulna is stationary during wrist rotation.

Having clear boundaries will assist the massage therapist in knowing when a personal limit has been reached and what can be expected from the therapist and the client within a professional relationship.

There are laws, rules and regulations against developing a sexual relationship with a client. If a sexual relationship existed prior to the client/therapist relationship, then continued sexual interaction is allowable. A typically safe amount of time to wait is 6 months after the client/therapist relationship has been dissolved (documented and signed by both parties) before pursuing a romantic interaction. However, the best path to preserving your career and avoiding a possible investigation is to never engage a client or previous client in any relations outside of a therapeutic environment.

There are two types: myelinating and nonmyelating. Myelinating Schwann cells wrap around axons of motor and sensory neurons to form the myelin sheath, which acts to protect and support nerve functioning. Non-myelinating Schwann cells are involved with maintaining the health and vitality of the axon or nerve fiber.

The Adson maneuver is used to determine a thoracic outlet compression. To conduct the Adson maneuver, a massage therapist places the clients arm into horizontal abduction on the affected side to a 45 degree angle while rotating their head toward the affected side. The massage therapist then instructs the client to extend their head which tightens the scalene muscles, which should magnify any preexisting compression of the subclavian artery and brachial plexus. The massage therapist palpates for a decrease in the radial pulse while the client takes deep breathes to exaggerate the compression.

Carbohydrate digestions occurs mainly in the small intestine where the pancreatic digestive enzyme amylase converts starches into maltose which is then converted to glucose by the enzyme maltase. Sucrase converts sucrose to glucose and lactase converts lactose to glucose in the small intestine as well.

The purpose of a functional assessment is to evaluate movement patterns and whether they are restricted, painful, exaggerated or normal in function.

Testing the range of motion while the client is moving under their own power is known as an active range of motion test.

A nerve impulse is also known as an action potential, which is an electrical current that runs along a nerve pathway that can trigger a response in other cells.

Phantom pain is a phenomenon where a person experiences sensations of a limb or body part after it has been amputated. Phantom sensations have also occurred in people with removed organs and after a mastectomy.

Nephro and nephr both refer to the kidneys. An example is nephritis, which is an inflammation of the kidneys.

The valve between the stomach and the small intestine is the pyloric valve also known as the pylorus or pyloric sphincter.

Torticollis is an atypical torsion contraction of the neck which distorts the balance and positioning of the head and neck to either one side or the other.

Protons located within the nucleus are counted to determine the atomic number of an atom. This is different than the atomic mass which is a count of the total count of neutrons and protons within a nucleus.

Scalene muscles are typically reposed during normal respiration and only come into action during heavy exertion or forced inhalation. However, in a faulty breathing pattern, the scalene (along with the upper trapezius, levator scapulae, SCMS and pec minor) become primary breathing muscles and are active with each inspiration. This additional stress leads to the development of trigger points within these muscles. Assisting the client to correct their breathing pattern is as essential to rehabilitation as is releasing the hypertonic muscles.

The brachial plexus is the nerve bundle that serves the arm and most of the shoulder.

The concern with fraternizing with clients outside of the therapeutic environment is to avoid the possibility of creating a dual relationship.

Assisting a client through an active movement is active-assisted ROM. This is used to test for muscle adhesions, muscle strengths and muscle weakness.

A crush or love interest is a natural occurrence, especially when a massage therapist is viewed as safe, comforting and a truly caring individual. However, acting on these natural feelings oversteps the boundaries and threatens the very ethos of the healing culture of massage therapy.

A client with a grade 3 disability is considered highly disabled but with moderate limitation of functionality. A good example is an injured construction worker with a crushed vertebrae who is disabled from returning to work, but has moderate limitations in daily functions like walking, sitting and eating.

The action of petrissage is best suited for moving stagnant blood and lymph away from an injury site and replacing it with nutrient rich blood and fresh lymph.

Sometimes a client can develop complex issues and it is important for a massage professional to “check in” with their own personal scope of practice to insure a healthy therapeutic relationship. In this case, the massage therapist should recommend another practitioner with special training to better assist the client.

The temporalis muscle has one action and that is to clench the jaw during mastication. The best way to locate and palpate the temporalis muscle is to instruct the client to clench and release their jaw while the therapist feels for the origin and insertion of muscle fibers along the temporal bone.

Systole and diastole refer to the contraction (systole) and relaxation (diastole) phase of a heart beat.

Scapulohumeral rhythm exposes the function of the glenohumeral joint by testing at which degree the scapula activates during an initial abduction of the arm. At 45 degrees, the scapula should engage until the end range motion of abduction.

Skeletal muscles are reddish because they contain the red pigment myoglobin. Myoglobin is a globular protein similar to hemoglobin, the pigment in red blood cells that transports oxygen. Myoglobin also binds oxygen, making it available to skeletal muscles during muscle contraction.

Epinephrine or adrenalin activates arousal mechanisms which are triggers for the fight-or-flight response and posturing. Physical queues of attack posturing are elevated shoulders, clenched jaw and fists, flexed arms and aggressive behavior.

Coming down with a cold directly affects the client within the therapeutic environment. The other three choices are irrelevant to a client.

Hard end feel is the natural sensation at the end range of motion where bone meets bone such as elbow or knee extension. Since a hard end feel would indicate that the client’s joints are functioning normally, there would typically be no pain experienced.

A client who routinely presses the structure of the practice, like in this case, is testing the boundaries on what is acceptable. Regardless of a client’s situation, it is the therapist’s responsibility to set appropriate boundaries to ensure all participants feel safe and comfortable within the therapeutic environment.

A client that expresses feelings above and beyond the typical role as a client is seen as demonstrating transference. Being overly special can be seen as a red flag, especially in early stages of the therapeutic relationship.

ABCDE refers to irregularities in skin. A - asymmetrical shape of skin B - border unevenness C - color variations D - diameter E - evolution Any changes in the ABCDE category is cause for a referral to a dermatologist.

A sulcus is the anatomical term for a furrow, fissure, crevice or a groove in the human body. Two examples are the central sulcus of the cerebellum which divides the frontal and parietal lobes, and the radial sulcus along the lateral border of the humerus which houses the radial nerve and the deep brachial artery.

The radial nerve innervates all muscles of the posterior arm and this includes the triceps muscle.

The radial nerve divides into the superficial dorsal digital nerves and the deeper posterior interosseous nerve, located at the posterior aspect of the forearm.

Licensure is handled by state massage boards that determine the minimum educational requirements and certifications needed for qualification. A massage therapist who is interested in licensure in a state that regulates massage should first contact the state massage board for regulation requirements.

A Golgi tendon organ or GTO provides the sensory component to the Golgi tendon reflex, a phenomenon that protects a muscle/tendon from an excessive load or stretch.

FSH or follicle stimulating hormone, produced by the anterior portion of the pituitary gland regulates the reproductive processes of the body, including development, growth and maturation.

Metabolism is the process of chemical transformations within the body. These transformations can be caused by means of a physical stimulus or messages from the CNS. Massage therapy can provide both a mechanical and reflexive influence upon metabolism and this creates metabolic effect upon the body.

The question describes the fundamentals of framework. A framework is all encompassing within the massage field and includes the values and visions, conception, design and desires of a massage therapist as they apply to a business model. Developing a solid framework is essential to creating a healthy and successful practice.