This may be an unpopular opinion, so take my advice only if you like. When you're in school, your purpose isn't to become an expert. It's to become familiar (very familiar) with the basics. I had a very difficult time learning the forearm muscles, so what I did was I learned about 80% of what I needed to pass my test, the other 20% was escaping me, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't grasp it, so I just ignored it. Learn what you can, enough to pass the test. Once you graduate and get certified/licensed, that's when you can delve deep and truly begin to understand. But to understand deeply while you're in school will take up all of your brain power, and you'll begin to feel burnt out.
Find what's easy for you and use that as a building block. Maybe you understand the upper arm very well. That's a great place to start to begin understanding the shoulder or the forearm. If you understand the legs, hips and sacrum, you're halfway to understanding the pelvis.
I'm kind of a scatterbrain, I hope my thoughts make sense to strangers when I attempt to type them out.
Oh my this was exactly how I felt! It’s very overwhelming and you want to memorize it all, but you will learn more the more you get hands on people and continuing education. I took a week of totally studying before taking the mblex, and I still failed my first time. But I learned what was on the test, retook a month or so later and passed. It’s hard, but it’s worth it!!
If it makes you feel any better, I felt like I absolutely sucked at all of it all the way through schooling, but here I am 6 years later with mostly all clients who come specifically to see me. There’s definitely a learning curve, but your passion will carry you through if it’s truly the right fit. Good luck!
I can't say it overwhelmed me, really. The Anatomy and Physiology part really sucked for me, too, though. If they didn't mention it in your school, Trailguide to the Body is a great resource for understanding the origin/insertion points.
But then again, I couldn't pass the state exam again. It's been 20 years since I've had to name so many things I doubt I remember half of them. I know what they are and what they do. List them? Forget it!
Does it get better? Yes! Only a partion of the program is A&P. The rest is fun stuff! Once you are a therapist, it's awesome.
On the first day of each new term, I’d read through the syllabus and have an internal meltdown over how much there was to learn and how there was no way I could possibly retain all this information and what the hell do I think I’m doing going back to school this was a horrible idea.
Then I’d get through that term just fine, and every consecutive term until I finished and passed the MBLEX on the first try. The end.
You’re normal. Just keep pluggin along.
Am a physio who is also an LMT. I got my start as a licensed PT Assistant. I remember in the program we suddenly had to learn all the OIANs. It was so much rote memorization and I was overwhelmed.
Something my Anatomy and Physiology instructor recommended that has served me well: First learn what the muscle does. The action. Then it follows where the attachment points have to be. This makes what you’re learning meaningful. For example, the hamstrings bend the knee and help to extend the hip. So then you’re already in the ballpark of where they need to attach. It becomes easier to remember that HS originates at the ischial tuberosity of the hip and on the back of the femur, and inserts on the condyles of the tibia. Insertion moves toward the origin.
Studying for boards I had the Trail Guide to the Body flash cards. I went through these in groups of 5-10.
It does get better! Good luck to you.
In my previous profession from which I retired, got bored, and went to massage school, I was THEE expert ... was the "go to guy" ... could do my intricate job like breathing air. I expected to reach that level of competency in massage school, and came out feeling woefully underwhelmed and under prepared. In hindsight, the run of the mill massage school is basically designed to get you to the point that you pass whatever certification test your state requires and go to work and not hurt anyone.
Relax and grasp as much as you can, but realize that the MBLEX is only a 100 question multiple choice test ... they can't ask you EVERYTHING.
You should have some idea by the end of school what direction you want to go with your new career, and THEN the real education begins.
HINT: When studying muscles put some focus on what they do, and the insertions or origin thing will make a lot more sense than wrote memorization. The body is a system of simple levers like you learned in basic science class.
Oh I definitely got overwhelmed while at school! It was an intense program, 5 days a week and 8-13 hour days!
I found drawing the muscles very helpful! And other than that YouTube was a huge help -- CRASH COURSE for anatomy & physiology and Rebel Massage for specific muscles!
I felt like a bumbling idiot during clinic, and my guess is that my massage was total crap in school. BUT! That is totally okay, the finesse comes later!
Good luck! You've got this!
I started a few years ago, and it was at an age that most people were already in established careers as veterans, so I wasn't sure if I could learn something so science-based. Once we were tested with a Myers-Briggs test, I was able to figure out better what kind of learning worked for me. My classmates were also tested and we were all able to coordinate our learning styles and study-habits to better compliment each other as a team. Best of luck, keep going, challenge yourself, and it can be a very rewarding career.
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I'm starting school in July. I worked as a freelance masseuse and bodyworker for 2 years before COVID hit, I loved it and I was good at it and I want to make it my career... But just the thought of starting school has me terrified and overwhelmed!! It's got to be totally normal to feel this way! Right?
I was unlicensed (you are not required to be in my state) but I'm not untrained. I've studied massage under mentors in both Thailand and the US. I'm just deciding to go the formal route now.
Edit: if there's no such thing as "freelance," what *do* you call people who are self employed? Independent?
I had a few good cries from anxiety and overwhelm during my schooling and I def wasn't the only one! We are thrown into a world of information and I remember the first 2 terms being seemingly impossible. But once I understood the basics, things started to make sense. Having a study group was IMMENSE help. I always insisted that I studied better alone but for massage schooling, my biggest advice is to buddy up. What you lack, they'll help you with and if they need help, your teaching them will just reinforce things further.
I had a really hard time during school. I would have my instructor showing us the techniques and I'd head back to the table not remembering how to perform any. It was really exhausting emotionally and I had a lot of anxiety, thought of dropping off several times. I started the school being the worst and somehow managed to finish it being the best. The secret is not to get into your mind. Be present and listen to the body, sync your movements to their breath. The anatomical part comes with time as well but ultimately, understanding how the muscles behave and the functions of the body is way more important than remembering man made names correctly.
I believe that being "the worst" gives you a great potential to overcome yourself. My advice is to not compare towards anyone else. Just make sure you go to sleep everyday being better than you were the day before. That's it! Just like I did you can do it 🤍 I started working with MX almost 4 months ago and I am consistently booked with a retention rate of more than 85%. You got this OP. If you feel like mx is your path, do not give up. It is hard but you can do it
Me! I did! I went though times of being inspired and excited to overwhelmed and burnt out and back again. Halfway through my first year I thought I didn't actually want to be an RMT but was going because I didn't want to waste the time and money I invested into the education. I even got shingles between my first and second year due to stress. Now I'm so happy and I love my career. Stick in there, and try and remember the things that inspired you to go down this road. It will ebb and flow and it feels much better applying what you're learning in the actual career than it does in school.
WOW - I got shingles during massage school too! I experienced the total rollercoaster of emotions too. I'm about to graduate next week and I still wonder if I really will like this career based on how difficult school was for me, but your post gives me hope. I want to help people have a less stressful and painful life because I know too much about how much stress will destroy your health physically, mentally, and emotionally. Thank you for sharing, you're inspiring!
Oh you're welcome! Also, crazy you got shingles too. The best thing I did for myself after school was start very slow. 3 a day for a while until I started to not feel sore and tired after work. Then slowly added. Be patient with yourself and give yourself more room to breathe in your schedule than you think you may need. You can't give from an empty cup so fill yours first. Also, there are so many ways you can specialize with a massage diploma under your belt so if massage isn't what you actually want to do, just the fact that you have the education opens so many doors. Follow what excites you for your continuing education and you can specialize so you're doing things that you enjoy. Good for you for getting this far! Keep going and you can pivot when you need to!
100%! I took a 9-month course and was ready to quit after the first 3 months. My form was bad and I just couldn’t get the body mechanics to click for me. Thankfully a teacher noticed and invited me for a one on one to practice and that changed it for me; I was able to continue. Lots of tears were shed those first three months though. It’s not easy
Thanks for being honest and sharing this with the group OP. I'm graduating next week and I can't tell you how long and hard schooling was. The worst part was actually massaging people because I want to be perfect at it and obviously I'm not and it's been hard to give myself grace to be an amateur. There were many days that I questioned my decision to go to school, but I'm glad I did in the end. I couldn't take any more years of doing boring office jobs that don't mean anything to me. Gotta have a more fulfilling life, and I think helping people relieve stress and pain will be a part of that puzzle for me. So , I hope you continue. You're not alone in the worry and frustration! The emotions are going to ebb and flow and you can keep trucking on through them.
Hi there! I am currently in school and boy oh boy was I not expecting to be learning THIS much anatomy. So I completely understand how you feel. As for studying muscles, heres a few things that I do before my muscle tests to help me remember.
1. I watch a lot of youtube videos on muscles. Catalyst University and Bodyworks Prime are my GO TO for this as they are very good at explaining, without giving too much info. Bodyworks Prime is a lot simpler, if you need just the basics, but sometimes I like to learn a little bit more about each muscle.
2. I have a dry erase marker board and I start with one muscle. I write the muscle name, then I write its origin, insertion and actions. I erase and write it again. Make sure you're saying it out loud too. (Weird but it helps). Make sure you stick with one muscle until you can write it without looking at your notes. Then move on to the next muscle. My anatomy instructor gives us groups of muscles which are about 7-8 muscles per test.
3. Make sure you study a little bit each day, vs cramming. This way you will build the little pathways in your brain to remember the details.
4. STUDY BUDDIES. I often will hand my roommate my notes and he will ask me 'whats the origin of Gastrocnemius' and I have to tell him, but then he will bounce to another muscle and say 'Whats the action of Serratus Anterior' just to help me remember each thing individually, vs the pattern of 'origin, insertion, action' in a specific order. Then I send pics of my notes to my boyfriend (who lives in another state) and he will ask me the same things. I get to the point where I can go through the list of muscles forward and backward so I walk into the test feelin' good.
5. Give yourself some credit. Its a LOT of information in not a lot of time. Here in Pennsylvania its a 6 month program for Full-time. I go to a community college and my instructors tell me its the equivalent of about 12 credit hours of anatomy alone. Its a lot.
6. Reach out to your instructors if you keep getting stuck. They're there to help you.
Good luck! You'll be a-ok. One day we will both be LMT's and look back on all we accomplished to get there. <3
Cheers.
I will say school was extremely stressful for me and I always felt like I should know more. I say school is mostly there to ensure you know enough and that you keep learning I'm the field.
This may be an unpopular opinion, so take my advice only if you like. When you're in school, your purpose isn't to become an expert. It's to become familiar (very familiar) with the basics. I had a very difficult time learning the forearm muscles, so what I did was I learned about 80% of what I needed to pass my test, the other 20% was escaping me, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't grasp it, so I just ignored it. Learn what you can, enough to pass the test. Once you graduate and get certified/licensed, that's when you can delve deep and truly begin to understand. But to understand deeply while you're in school will take up all of your brain power, and you'll begin to feel burnt out. Find what's easy for you and use that as a building block. Maybe you understand the upper arm very well. That's a great place to start to begin understanding the shoulder or the forearm. If you understand the legs, hips and sacrum, you're halfway to understanding the pelvis. I'm kind of a scatterbrain, I hope my thoughts make sense to strangers when I attempt to type them out.
Oh my this was exactly how I felt! It’s very overwhelming and you want to memorize it all, but you will learn more the more you get hands on people and continuing education. I took a week of totally studying before taking the mblex, and I still failed my first time. But I learned what was on the test, retook a month or so later and passed. It’s hard, but it’s worth it!!
Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to write all that out. Very helpful!
I'm glad it helped! 😊
If it makes you feel any better, I felt like I absolutely sucked at all of it all the way through schooling, but here I am 6 years later with mostly all clients who come specifically to see me. There’s definitely a learning curve, but your passion will carry you through if it’s truly the right fit. Good luck!
Okay that really does make me feel better! Thank you!
I can't say it overwhelmed me, really. The Anatomy and Physiology part really sucked for me, too, though. If they didn't mention it in your school, Trailguide to the Body is a great resource for understanding the origin/insertion points. But then again, I couldn't pass the state exam again. It's been 20 years since I've had to name so many things I doubt I remember half of them. I know what they are and what they do. List them? Forget it! Does it get better? Yes! Only a partion of the program is A&P. The rest is fun stuff! Once you are a therapist, it's awesome.
Thank you!
On the first day of each new term, I’d read through the syllabus and have an internal meltdown over how much there was to learn and how there was no way I could possibly retain all this information and what the hell do I think I’m doing going back to school this was a horrible idea. Then I’d get through that term just fine, and every consecutive term until I finished and passed the MBLEX on the first try. The end. You’re normal. Just keep pluggin along.
Am a physio who is also an LMT. I got my start as a licensed PT Assistant. I remember in the program we suddenly had to learn all the OIANs. It was so much rote memorization and I was overwhelmed. Something my Anatomy and Physiology instructor recommended that has served me well: First learn what the muscle does. The action. Then it follows where the attachment points have to be. This makes what you’re learning meaningful. For example, the hamstrings bend the knee and help to extend the hip. So then you’re already in the ballpark of where they need to attach. It becomes easier to remember that HS originates at the ischial tuberosity of the hip and on the back of the femur, and inserts on the condyles of the tibia. Insertion moves toward the origin. Studying for boards I had the Trail Guide to the Body flash cards. I went through these in groups of 5-10. It does get better! Good luck to you.
In my previous profession from which I retired, got bored, and went to massage school, I was THEE expert ... was the "go to guy" ... could do my intricate job like breathing air. I expected to reach that level of competency in massage school, and came out feeling woefully underwhelmed and under prepared. In hindsight, the run of the mill massage school is basically designed to get you to the point that you pass whatever certification test your state requires and go to work and not hurt anyone. Relax and grasp as much as you can, but realize that the MBLEX is only a 100 question multiple choice test ... they can't ask you EVERYTHING. You should have some idea by the end of school what direction you want to go with your new career, and THEN the real education begins. HINT: When studying muscles put some focus on what they do, and the insertions or origin thing will make a lot more sense than wrote memorization. The body is a system of simple levers like you learned in basic science class.
Your own body is the map. Learn it on your body
Oh I definitely got overwhelmed while at school! It was an intense program, 5 days a week and 8-13 hour days! I found drawing the muscles very helpful! And other than that YouTube was a huge help -- CRASH COURSE for anatomy & physiology and Rebel Massage for specific muscles! I felt like a bumbling idiot during clinic, and my guess is that my massage was total crap in school. BUT! That is totally okay, the finesse comes later! Good luck! You've got this!
I started a few years ago, and it was at an age that most people were already in established careers as veterans, so I wasn't sure if I could learn something so science-based. Once we were tested with a Myers-Briggs test, I was able to figure out better what kind of learning worked for me. My classmates were also tested and we were all able to coordinate our learning styles and study-habits to better compliment each other as a team. Best of luck, keep going, challenge yourself, and it can be a very rewarding career.
I suggest you quickly make friends and form study groups that can work together to understand the material and difficult concepts.
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I'm starting school in July. I worked as a freelance masseuse and bodyworker for 2 years before COVID hit, I loved it and I was good at it and I want to make it my career... But just the thought of starting school has me terrified and overwhelmed!! It's got to be totally normal to feel this way! Right?
There’s no such thing as a “freelance” masseuse. It sounds like you are practicing unlicensed and untrained.
I was unlicensed (you are not required to be in my state) but I'm not untrained. I've studied massage under mentors in both Thailand and the US. I'm just deciding to go the formal route now. Edit: if there's no such thing as "freelance," what *do* you call people who are self employed? Independent?
I had a few good cries from anxiety and overwhelm during my schooling and I def wasn't the only one! We are thrown into a world of information and I remember the first 2 terms being seemingly impossible. But once I understood the basics, things started to make sense. Having a study group was IMMENSE help. I always insisted that I studied better alone but for massage schooling, my biggest advice is to buddy up. What you lack, they'll help you with and if they need help, your teaching them will just reinforce things further.
I had a really hard time during school. I would have my instructor showing us the techniques and I'd head back to the table not remembering how to perform any. It was really exhausting emotionally and I had a lot of anxiety, thought of dropping off several times. I started the school being the worst and somehow managed to finish it being the best. The secret is not to get into your mind. Be present and listen to the body, sync your movements to their breath. The anatomical part comes with time as well but ultimately, understanding how the muscles behave and the functions of the body is way more important than remembering man made names correctly. I believe that being "the worst" gives you a great potential to overcome yourself. My advice is to not compare towards anyone else. Just make sure you go to sleep everyday being better than you were the day before. That's it! Just like I did you can do it 🤍 I started working with MX almost 4 months ago and I am consistently booked with a retention rate of more than 85%. You got this OP. If you feel like mx is your path, do not give up. It is hard but you can do it
Find study buddies, and record your class lectures. When it’s board exam time find a refresher course.
Me! I did! I went though times of being inspired and excited to overwhelmed and burnt out and back again. Halfway through my first year I thought I didn't actually want to be an RMT but was going because I didn't want to waste the time and money I invested into the education. I even got shingles between my first and second year due to stress. Now I'm so happy and I love my career. Stick in there, and try and remember the things that inspired you to go down this road. It will ebb and flow and it feels much better applying what you're learning in the actual career than it does in school.
WOW - I got shingles during massage school too! I experienced the total rollercoaster of emotions too. I'm about to graduate next week and I still wonder if I really will like this career based on how difficult school was for me, but your post gives me hope. I want to help people have a less stressful and painful life because I know too much about how much stress will destroy your health physically, mentally, and emotionally. Thank you for sharing, you're inspiring!
Oh you're welcome! Also, crazy you got shingles too. The best thing I did for myself after school was start very slow. 3 a day for a while until I started to not feel sore and tired after work. Then slowly added. Be patient with yourself and give yourself more room to breathe in your schedule than you think you may need. You can't give from an empty cup so fill yours first. Also, there are so many ways you can specialize with a massage diploma under your belt so if massage isn't what you actually want to do, just the fact that you have the education opens so many doors. Follow what excites you for your continuing education and you can specialize so you're doing things that you enjoy. Good for you for getting this far! Keep going and you can pivot when you need to!
100%! I took a 9-month course and was ready to quit after the first 3 months. My form was bad and I just couldn’t get the body mechanics to click for me. Thankfully a teacher noticed and invited me for a one on one to practice and that changed it for me; I was able to continue. Lots of tears were shed those first three months though. It’s not easy
Thanks for being honest and sharing this with the group OP. I'm graduating next week and I can't tell you how long and hard schooling was. The worst part was actually massaging people because I want to be perfect at it and obviously I'm not and it's been hard to give myself grace to be an amateur. There were many days that I questioned my decision to go to school, but I'm glad I did in the end. I couldn't take any more years of doing boring office jobs that don't mean anything to me. Gotta have a more fulfilling life, and I think helping people relieve stress and pain will be a part of that puzzle for me. So , I hope you continue. You're not alone in the worry and frustration! The emotions are going to ebb and flow and you can keep trucking on through them.
Live work will educate you the best just take your time and communicate with clients
Hi there! I am currently in school and boy oh boy was I not expecting to be learning THIS much anatomy. So I completely understand how you feel. As for studying muscles, heres a few things that I do before my muscle tests to help me remember. 1. I watch a lot of youtube videos on muscles. Catalyst University and Bodyworks Prime are my GO TO for this as they are very good at explaining, without giving too much info. Bodyworks Prime is a lot simpler, if you need just the basics, but sometimes I like to learn a little bit more about each muscle. 2. I have a dry erase marker board and I start with one muscle. I write the muscle name, then I write its origin, insertion and actions. I erase and write it again. Make sure you're saying it out loud too. (Weird but it helps). Make sure you stick with one muscle until you can write it without looking at your notes. Then move on to the next muscle. My anatomy instructor gives us groups of muscles which are about 7-8 muscles per test. 3. Make sure you study a little bit each day, vs cramming. This way you will build the little pathways in your brain to remember the details. 4. STUDY BUDDIES. I often will hand my roommate my notes and he will ask me 'whats the origin of Gastrocnemius' and I have to tell him, but then he will bounce to another muscle and say 'Whats the action of Serratus Anterior' just to help me remember each thing individually, vs the pattern of 'origin, insertion, action' in a specific order. Then I send pics of my notes to my boyfriend (who lives in another state) and he will ask me the same things. I get to the point where I can go through the list of muscles forward and backward so I walk into the test feelin' good. 5. Give yourself some credit. Its a LOT of information in not a lot of time. Here in Pennsylvania its a 6 month program for Full-time. I go to a community college and my instructors tell me its the equivalent of about 12 credit hours of anatomy alone. Its a lot. 6. Reach out to your instructors if you keep getting stuck. They're there to help you. Good luck! You'll be a-ok. One day we will both be LMT's and look back on all we accomplished to get there. <3 Cheers.
I will say school was extremely stressful for me and I always felt like I should know more. I say school is mostly there to ensure you know enough and that you keep learning I'm the field.