HLTMSG013 - Perform remedial massage musculoskeletal assessments

For Melbourne campuses

Assessment tasks will be designed to reinforce & extend knowledge and skill competence within set & controlled parameters in accordance with each units learning outcomes & performance criteria requirements, including the setting of work based practical application tasks designed to provide evidence of competence outcomes, within periodic and scheduled timelines.

Students will be expected to demonstrate the following required skills:

• conduct a complete remedial massage client assessment on three different people that involves:

• completing each assessment within an acceptable commercial timeframe
• whole upper body assessment including shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand
• whole lower body assessment including pelvis, hip, knee, ankle and foot
• whole spinal assessment including cervical, thoracic and lumbar
• using remedial assessment techniques:

  discussion
  daily movement tasks
  muscle strength and length tests
  observation including variations of posture
  orthopaedic tests
  palpation of relevant bony landmarks and muscles
  range of motion (ROM) testing including active, passive and resisted

• discussing treatment options and rationale with each client
• engaging each client in decision making.

Students will also be expected to demonstrate the following knowledge:

• Commonwealth and State or Territory legal and ethical considerations for client assessment:

• codes of conduct
• duty of care
• informed consent
• mandatory reporting
• therapist and client boundaries
• privacy, confidentiality and disclosure
• records management
• work health and safety (WHS)
• work role boundaries:

  working within scope of practice
  presenting symptoms that require referral to a medical practitioner

• referral options for therapists:

• allied health service and other health modalities
• types and availability of further medical testing

• factors and barriers that may impact on remedial massage assessment:

• physical
• psychological
• cultural

• factors that affect individual health status:

• age
• gender
• lifestyle risk factors
• personal and medical history:

  comorbidities
  sequelae and progression of disease
  mental and emotional health

• values, attitudes and beliefs
• balance of rest, activity and sleep
• physical environment
• social environment
• social determinants of health

• client information required for remedial massage assessment and the scope and depth of information needed around:

• client expectations:

  methods to clarify
  managing

• client understanding of current symptoms including pain or health condition
• client history and its components
• client current state of health

• signs and symptoms:

• onset
• duration
• location
• type and severity

• considerations for performing remedial massage assessments:

• environment
• equipment
• client privacy
• client instructions

• remedial treatment planning techniques and considerations
• remedial assessment techniques, how and when they are used:

• discussion
• daily movement tasks
• muscle strength and length tests
• observation including variations of posture
• orthopaedic tests
• palpation of relevant bony landmarks and muscles
• ROM tests including active, passive and resisted

• cautions and contraindications to treatment and possible indications for client referral:

• pregnancy
• weak bone and joint instability
• neurological dysfunction
• vascular disorder
• symptoms outside of scope of practice
• excessive pain and abnormal responses to treatment
• protracted pain
• non-reproducible pain
• fatigue
• circulatory disorder
• inflammation
• lumps and tissue changes
• rashes and changes in the skin
• oedema
• sudden changes in mood
• infection
• changes in appetite, elimination and sleep habits
• bleeding and bruising
• nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea
• recent changes in body temperature

• remedial massage treatment techniques:

• compressive techniques
• deep pressure massage
• friction techniques
• lymphatic massage
• muscle energy techniques
• myofascial techniques without skin penetration
• passive movement at joints
• stretching techniques
• thermotherapy
• trigger point techniques without skin penetration

• anatomy:

• body systems relevant to massage assessment:

  muscle physiology
  nervous system including myotomes, peripheral nerves and nerve impingements including root and peripheral
  integumentary
  skeletal

• muscle origins, insertions and actions including synergistic groups:

• adductor longus
• adductor magnus
• anconeus
• biceps brachii
• brachialis
• brachioradialis
• coracobrachialis
• deltoid
• digastric
• erector spinae
• extensor carpi radialis
• extensor digitorum longus
• extensor hallucis longus
• flexor carpi radialus
• flexor carpi ulnaris
• flexor digitorum longus
• flexor hallucis longus
• frontalis
• gastrocnemius
• gemellus superior and inferior
• gluteus maximus
• gluteus medius
• gluteus minimus
• gracillis
• hamstrings
• iliacus
• infraspinatus
• intercostals
• internal and external obliques
• latissimus dorsi
• levator scapulae
• longus colli
• masseter
• multifidus
• obliquus capitis inferior
• obliquus capitis superior
• obturator internus and externus
• palmaris longus
• pectineus
• pectoralis major
• pectoralis minor
• peroneals
• piriformis
• platysma
• popliteus
• pronator teres
• psoas major
• pterygoids
• quadratus femoris
• quadratus lumborum
• quadriceps
• rectus abdominis
• rectus capitis posterior
• rhomboids
• rotatores
• sartorius
• scalenes including anterior, medial and posterior
• semispinalis
• semi-spinalis capitis
• serratus anterior
• serratus posterior superior
• soleus
• splenius capitis
• splenius cervicis
• sternocleidomastoid
• subscapularis
• supinator
• supraspinatus
• temporalis
• tensor fasciae latae (TFL)
• teres major
• teres minor
• thenar muscle group
• tibialis anterior
• tibialis posterior
• transverse abdominis
• trapezius
• triceps brachii

• skeleton:

• bones of the body
• surface anatomy and palpable bony landmarks
• bone growth and remodelling

• joints:

• classifications including fibrous, cartilaginous and synovial:

  glide
  plane
  ball and socket
  saddle
  hinge
  condyloid
  pivot

• actions
• detailed anatomy for each major joint:

  shoulder
  hip
  sacroiliac
  knee
  ankle and foot
  wrist
  elbow
  acromioclavicular
  sternoclavicular
  costal
  spine
  atlanto-occipital
  temporomandibular

• nervous system
• physiology:

• soft tissue:

  muscle physiology including contraction, reflexes, biochemistry and proprioception
  tendons and ligaments
  fascia

• hard tissue:

  bone growth and development
  abnormal bone growth

• conditions commonly seen by remedial therapists:

• pain:

  muscle and tendon
  joint
  neural

• impact and fall injuries
• headache and migraine
• osteoarthritis
• repetitive strain injuries and overuse syndromes
• sport and activity-related conditions
• stress, anxiety and other mood-related problems

• documentation requirements:

• accurate
• comprehensive
• legible
• in English
• using industry terminology and standard abbreviations.