Academy of Clinical Massage

In the mid-1950s, Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues devised an organizational system for categorizing levels of learning and cognitive complexity. This system has been used extensively in curriculum development for all grade levels and in higher education. It has also more recently been modified and updated. The updated Bloom’s taxonomy model is precious for organizing […]

Ankle sprains are the most commonly occurring lower extremity soft-tissue injury. An estimated 85% of all ankle injuries involve ligament sprains. Of the various ligaments around the ankle, the majority of injuries occur to the ligaments on the lateral side of the ankle, primarily the anterior talofibular. When injuries are severe, they may also include […]

For a long time the print textbook has ruled the classroom as the primary supplemental resource for study to support the instructor. That reign is waning as digital resources are now commonly used to supplement classroom instruction. There are people on both sides of the fence about whether digital resources are better or worse than […]

Don’t rely on that highlighter! One of the most common study strategies is to re-read content (either from our notes or from printed text materials) and highlight relevant passages. The purpose is to go back later on and re-read those highlighted passages with the intention of planting them in our memory. This activity is a learning […]

Despite the increased use of high-tech diagnostic procedures, assessing the function of soft tissues involved in locomotion is still best done through physical examination. We derive some of the most valuable assessment information from relatively straightforward procedures like active and passive range of motion tests. While you may have learned the basics of performing active […]

School can sometimes have a reputation for being dull, and students frequently have wandering attention. The wandering attention is especially challenging in entry-level education where students come to class every day amid hectic lives with many other distractions. Teachers then look for different strategies to keep students engaged. One of the ways teachers try to […]

This post is the second of a two-part series investigating the ideas of fascial manipulation. In the first part, I discussed the biomechanical properties of plastic and elastic tissue deformation of connective tissue. These principles demonstrate that we are unlikely to elongate and change the shape of fascia with manual therapy despite numerous claims to […]

One of the unique facets of our field (and granted there are many) is that much of our education follows the model of oral tradition. In an oral tradition, information is passed down from teacher to student and assumed to be valid and accurate because “that’s what our former teachers taught, or that’s what the […]

Understanding the Golgi Tendon Organ There are two primary proprioceptors responsible for maintaining proper muscle length and tone—the muscle spindle and the Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO). These two specialized cells work very efficiently together to control movement. This article focuses on the GTO and some common misconceptions about leveraging its function for manual therapy. The […]

Introduction We tend to look at anatomy and structure as something that is constant and unchanging, but the truth is there are a number of anatomical variations and many of the structures shown in anatomy books can be somewhat different among individuals. Adding to this complexity, a client’s anatomical structure can significantly change with age, […]