Massage Techniques
I think most people would be very surprised at how many different massage techniques there are out there. In fact, I think many massage students would be surprised at how many there are. No massage school in the world teaches their students every massage technique that is out there. It would not be possible. So instead, every massage school selects a few (more if you are lucky) techniques to focus on. Perhaps they may have a class where they mention all of the techniques but even that is a rare occurrence. Please do not misunderstand, this is not a bad thing, it is simply the way things are and the way things must be because of expediency. Chiropractic schools are no different. There are over a hundred different chiropractic techniques, yet most schools only teach a handful or more of those techniques to their students.
When it comes to taking the MBLEx, you can be tested on any technique that may honestly be taught at an existing massage school. This means that just because the techniques were never taught at your school does not mean you can not still be tested on it. So be prepared and study up on ALL of the techniques that are out there as you do not know which of these may end up on your MBLEx.
Here is a list of all of the techniques (that I could find) that are considered in the realm of massage:
Swedish * Sports massage * Myofascial release * Craniosacral Reflexology
Prenatal * Shiatsu * Chair massage * Hot stone massage * Aromatherapy
Acupressure * Breema * Thai massage * Lymph drainage * Anma
Polarity therapy * Reiki * Rolfing * Hellerwork * Healing touch
Lomi Lomi * Tui Na * Trager therapy * Ortho-bionomy * Ayurvedic massage
I know there are even more out there (Indonesian snake massage, yes that’s for real) but these encompass the major recognized techniques. You should also understand what Traditional Chinese Medicine is (vs Ayurveda). The FSMTB does not want you to be an expert at each of these techniques, but they do want you to know the basic facts regarding them.