Massage Therapy Licensing Exam (MBLEx) Safety, Sanitation, and Self-Care Summary

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.

Each client must get clean, fresh linens. Used linens can carry skin cells, oils, and germs.

Wrong choices

• Once a day: Once a day means later clients lie on used linens.
• Only when they look dirty: Linens can carry germs even when they look clean.
• Every other client: Every other client means half the clients lie on used linens.

Standard precautions mean treating blood, body fluids (except sweat), broken skin, and mucous membranes of every client as if they could carry infection. They include hand hygiene and wearing gloves when contact is possible.

Wrong choices

• Taking care only with clients known to be sick: People can carry infections without knowing it, so precautions apply to everyone.
• Steps used only in hospitals: Standard precautions apply in all care settings, including massage.
• Wearing a face mask at all times: A mask at all times is not what standard precautions mean.

In a bow (lunge) stance, one foot is ahead of the other and the knees are slightly bent. The therapist shifts weight with the legs instead of bending or twisting the back.

Wrong choices

• Feet together, bending at the waist: Bending at the waist strains the low back.
• Knees locked straight: Locked knees stop the legs from moving the body and strain the back.
• Twisting at the waist: Twisting at the waist strains the spine.

Health guidelines say to scrub all parts of the hands with soap for at least 20 seconds. This loosens and removes germs.

Wrong choices

• About 2 seconds: Two seconds is too short to remove germs.
• About 5 seconds: Five seconds is too short to remove germs.
• No scrubbing is needed: Rubbing with soap is what removes germs.

Linens with blood are handled with gloves and placed in a separate, closed container for proper laundering. This protects people from contact with body fluids.

Wrong choices

• Shake them out before washing: Shaking linens spreads germs into the air.
• Wash them by hand with other towels: Hand washing with other towels spreads contamination.
• Reuse them once they dry: Dried blood can still carry germs; linens must be laundered.

An open cut lets germs pass both ways. Covering it with a bandage plus a glove or finger cot protects both the client and the therapist.

Wrong choices

• Work without covering it: An uncovered cut can spread or pick up germs.
• Put extra oil over the cut: Oil does not seal or protect a cut.
• Wash it once and leave it open: Washing once does not keep the cut protected during the session.

Bent wrists under heavy load strain tendons and nerves. Keeping wrists in line with the forearm lets force pass through without harm.

Wrong choices

• To make the strokes faster: Wrist position is about safety, not stroke speed.
• To use less lotion: Wrist position does not change how much lotion is used.
• To increase the client's range of motion: The therapist's wrist position does not change the client's range of motion.

A pump or squeeze bottle lets you get lotion without touching what is left in the container. Dipping hands into a jar can spread germs to the next client.

Wrong choices

• Dip fingers into an open jar: Dipping fingers puts germs into the shared jar.
• Dip in, then wipe your hands: Wiping hands after dipping does not undo the germs already in the jar.
• Pour leftover lotion back into the bottle: Returning used lotion contaminates the bottle.

A therapist who is contagious can easily pass illness to clients during close contact. Rescheduling protects the clients.

Wrong choices

• Work as usual if feeling well enough: Feeling well enough does not stop the illness from spreading.
• See clients but skip hand washing to save time: Skipping hand washing increases the spread of germs.
• Only see clients who also have colds: Clients with colds can still catch other germs, and this is unsafe.