Massage Therapy Licensing Exam (MBLEx) Client Intake and Assessment Summary

SOAP stands for Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan. The S section records what the client tells you.

Wrong choices

• Symptoms: Symptoms may be written in the notes, but S stands for Subjective.
• Structural: Structural is not one of the SOAP words.
• Session: Session is not one of the SOAP words.

The Subjective section holds what the client reports, such as pain, feelings, and history. The client's own words about back pain belong here.

Wrong choices

• Right shoulder is higher than the left: A posture finding the therapist sees goes in Objective.
• Neck rotation to the left is limited: A measured range of motion finding goes in Objective.
• A tight band is felt in the upper trapezius: Something the therapist feels with the hands goes in Objective.

The Objective section holds what the therapist sees, feels, or measures. A forward head posture seen by the therapist is an objective finding.

Wrong choices

• The client reports headaches three days a week: Headaches the client reports are Subjective.
• The client says work stress is high: Stress the client describes is Subjective.
• The client rates the pain 6 out of 10: A pain rating given by the client is Subjective.

In active range of motion, the client moves the joint using their own muscles. The therapist watches how far and how smoothly it moves.

Wrong choices

• The therapist: When the therapist moves the joint, it is passive range of motion.
• A machine: Range of motion tests in massage are not done by a machine.
• No one, because the joint is held still: Holding a joint still is not a range of motion test.

The health history is taken before the first session so the therapist can spot conditions that need care or referral. It should then be updated at later visits.

Wrong choices

• After the first session ends: Waiting until after the session misses problems before they happen.
• Only if the client has pain: Every client needs a health history, with or without pain.
• Only after the third visit: Waiting until the third visit puts the client at risk in the first two.

In passive range of motion, the client relaxes and the therapist moves the joint. This shows how far the joint can move without the client's muscles working.

Wrong choices

• Move the joint without any help: Moving the joint without help is active range of motion.
• Push against the therapist's hand: Pushing against the therapist's hand is resisted testing.
• Stretch the joint as far as possible alone: Stretching alone is active movement, not passive.

Palpation means assessing by touch. The therapist feels for warmth, tightness, swelling, and texture in the tissue.

Wrong choices

• Observation: Observation uses the eyes, not the hands.
• Interview: An interview uses questions and answers.
• Gait analysis: Gait analysis watches the client walk.

Gait is the pattern of a person's walking. Watching gait can show muscle tightness, weakness, or pain.

Wrong choices

• The way a person sits: Sitting is not gait.
• How a person stands still: Standing still is posture, not gait.
• The movement of a single joint: The movement of one joint is range of motion, not gait.

The Plan section records what comes next, such as the next visit and home care. A return date and daily stretches belong here.

Wrong choices

• Assessment: Assessment records the results and changes from the session.
• Objective: Objective records what the therapist sees, feels, or measures.
• Subjective: Subjective records what the client reports.

Looking at how the body lines up while standing is a postural assessment. Uneven shoulder height is a common postural finding.

Wrong choices

• Gait assessment: Gait assessment watches the client walking.
• Client interview: An interview is asking questions, not looking.
• Resisted range of motion test: A resisted test has the client push against the therapist.