Muscles And Massage Therapy

As massage therapists, we deal with muscles during each massage we give. It is helpful to know where each one begins and ends and what soft tissues are on top of other soft tissues in the body.

Anatomy is very important in school. Knowing your way around the bony landmarks and soft tissues of the client's body is necessary to give the correct massage strokes to the many different soft tissues under the skin.

Anatomy is even more important in real life when there is a client on your table or in your chair.

Do yourself and your clients a favor and learn the muscles. Learn where they are, what bony landmarks they are near, what way the fibers go for each one, if there are any arteries close by, etc. We do a disservice to the client when we are not as familiar with the soft tissues of the body as we should be.

This section is mainly for students who need help studying the insertions and origins and for massage therapists who need a quick refresher course to better serve their clients. It is also for the clients who want to know their own bodies better.

Clients, you may get so interested that you decide you would like to have a career in massage therapy. I am including some of the most often worked-on soft tissues in the body.

They are divided into groups and body sections, except for two special ones-- Trapezius and Sternocleidomastoid.

Body sections are:

Forearms, Wrists, and Hands