Massage Therapy Licensing Exam (MBLEx) Sample Questions and Explanations

Arteries carry blood away from the heart to the body. Their walls are thick and strong because the blood inside is under high pressure.

Wrong choices

• Veins: Veins carry blood back to the heart.
• Capillaries: Capillaries are tiny vessels where oxygen and food pass into the tissues.
• Lymph vessels: Lymph vessels carry lymph fluid, not blood.

The hamstrings run down the back of the thigh and cross both the hip and the knee. They bend (flex) the knee and pull the thigh back (extend the hip).

Wrong choices

• The gluteus medius: The gluteus medius mainly abducts the hip.
• The quadriceps: The quadriceps extend the knee.
• The hip adductors: The adductors pull the thigh toward the midline.

A fever is a sign that the body is fighting an infection. Massage should wait until the client is well, and the illness may also spread to others.

Wrong choices

• Use deep pressure to help the client sweat it out: Deep work can add stress to a body that is already fighting illness.
• Put hot packs on the client to raise body heat: Adding heat to a feverish body is not safe.
• Massage only the back and skip the legs: A fever affects the whole body, so avoiding one area does not help.

The parasympathetic system is the "rest and digest" side of the nervous system. Slow, calm massage often turns it on, so the heart slows and the body relaxes.

Wrong choices

• The sympathetic nervous system: This is the "fight or flight" side, which speeds the body up.
• The somatic motor system: This system controls voluntary muscle movement, not relaxation.
• The reflex arc of the knee: This is a single reflex pathway, not the relaxation response.

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 therapist holds the professional role, so the therapist is always responsible for keeping boundaries, even if the client crosses them.

Wrong choices

• The client: The client may cross a boundary, but the therapist must manage it.
• The spa owner: An owner may set policies, but the therapist keeps boundaries in the session.
• The client's doctor: The client's doctor is not present and does not manage the session.

Hand washing before and after every session is the most important way to stop the spread of germs between clients.

Wrong choices

• Only after each session: Washing only after a session skips protecting the next client.
• Only when they look dirty: Germs can be on hands even when they look clean.
• Once at the start of the day: Once a day lets germs spread from client to client.

The sympathetic nervous system gets the body ready for stress or danger. It raises heart rate and breathing and sends more blood to the muscles.

Wrong choices

• The parasympathetic nervous system: The parasympathetic system is "rest and digest". It calms the body.
• The somatic nervous system: The somatic system controls muscles you move on purpose.
• The lymphatic system: The lymphatic system is not part of the nervous system.

The rotator cuff is made of four muscles: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis (SITS). They hold the head of the arm bone in the shoulder socket.

Wrong choices

• Pectoralis major: The pectoralis major is a chest muscle.
• Teres major: Teres major is near the rotator cuff but is not part of it.
• Deltoid: The deltoid covers the shoulder but is not a rotator cuff muscle.

A clot in a deep vein can break loose and travel to the lungs, which can be deadly. Do not massage the area and send the client to a doctor right away.

Wrong choices

• Use deep friction to break up the clot: Pressure on a clot is dangerous.
• Stretch the calf muscles firmly: Stretching could also loosen the clot.
• Massage the calf gently toward the heart: Even gentle massage could loosen the clot and send it to the lungs.