Day 43 - Are You Respiring?

This evening's class went well, despite being combined AGAIN with another class. Their instructor took vacation and apparently, somebody dropped the ball on communication and about 60 of us were crammed into a classroom built for about 35. This does not make for a pleasant learning experience, but despite this, we managed. In some ways, I think it made our class more attentive.
It was our first class of Anatomy VI (that's a Roman numeral 6 for those of you who don't read Roman), and according to the syllabus, we were to be learning about the lympatic/immune system. However, due to the circumstances and class size, we learned something far easier: the Respiratory System. From the nasal cavity to the alveioli of the lungs, we learned it and will have a quiz on it next week. I can see that during my holiday weekend I will have my nose in some books for at least part of it.
When we take anatomy classes, we get to color with colored pencils so we can learn parts and functions better. Sometimes I feel like a kindergartner again. I'm still not very good at coloring in the lines. Especially when the instructor is also writing important notes on the board that I need to copy down as soon as I'm done coloring.
Don't you wish you could take some fun classes like this?

Day 42 - Mas Mater

Tonight was the first night of learning the Cranial Sacral modality which helps with headaches, neck and back pain, and other stuff I don't seem to remember that was on the list. I found it quite fascinating to know that the head expands and contracts in a rhythm and actually makes the whole body move due to its rhythm.
Through the lecture, we got to hear more about the central nervous system and the dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater. I'm very glad that we had anatomy and learned about the nervous system before having this class.
We partnered up and all we did was just see if we could feel the cranial expansion rhythm. My partner felt mine, and I believe I felt his.

Day 41 - It's Not Personal, It's Business

Part of the Massage Therapy program includes "Professional Development" classes so that once we are certified and licensed, we have the knowledge and tools under our belts to start and operate our own Massage Therapy businesses if we so choose to do that.
After tonight's class, I'm a little overwhelmed with all the things that need to be planned out prior to opening a business. I guess that's why it can take weeks and even months to write an effective business plan. I can get the main points of operating a business, but I'm very glad that we have this opportunity to learn in this environment from somebody who's done it. Our instructor even talked about where the business is located - in a strip mall next to a strip club or in a destination place with an exclusive feel. She got very detailed. I guess that's why I got overwhelmed.
I don't know what my EXACT plan is for after I get licensed, but at least I'll have a foundation for the option of opening my own business.

Day 40 - Finally, Finally

Tonight we had our Trigger Point final exams, part written, part hands-on. I have been struggling with the material throughout this class, and it showed in my written exam grade: 82. At first I was told it was 79, but then later I was told 82. I have a suspicion that it was graded on a curve...a really big one. Regardless of what my grade was on the exam, I get the "point" of the Trigger Point modality. Especially after the hands-on portion of the exam.
During the class bodywork, I had thought, "Oh this is a trigger point" or "that is a trigger point." At least until tonight. My partner went first on the table so I was the practitioner. The TA graded me and I ended up getting a 98 for the practical, which incidently raises my grade for the class to a 90% - whew. Then it was my turn on the table. My partner worked on my quads, which I think I mentioned the other night that they seemed a little jacked up. She got her exam portion done and then it was time to just work on my legs, as in giving a massage. When she worked on the outside portion of my quad and hit one spot, I nearly stood up on the table! She found a TRUE trigger point. It referred pain to the inside of my knee and there was definitely a "jump sign" - as in - when I nearly jumped off the table. These are indications of a trigger point.
Now that all is said and done with Trigger Points in my certification program, I'm happy to be done with it for now, but I want to take another class to learn more. The more I know about Trigger Point therapy, the better bodyworker I will be for my clients.
And I got a 90% for the class! My GPA is still an untarnished 4.0!

Day 39 - Anatomy of an Exam

We came in, took the exam, and waited to get our results. The exam consisted of multiple choice, True/False, and a couple short answers.
When all was said and done, I got a 99% on the exam, missing ONE LOUSY QUESTION! But, hey - out of 200 possible points for the class, I have 198.5. Not too shabby for never really liking biology classes in high school.
Trigger Point final exam (written and hands-on) tomorrow. This one will be a killer.

Day 38 - Gotta Hand It To Ya

The state of Maryland requires 500 hours of instruction to become licensed. At BSOM, the program is 768 hours, which is well over the minimum requirement. Needless to say, whenever we have the opportunity to get out a little early, we jump at the chance.
For fun, we studied the trigger points in the hand. This information won't be on our final on Thursday, but it will be really good information for us to know, especially with so many people sitting in front of computers all day...or whatever job with the hands. They just need a lot of love.
After we studied about the hand, we went over the study guides for our final so that we are all working with the same study information. We thought we might get out early, but ended up getting out only about 10 minutes before regular time.
So much for getting out and being able to enjoy a little more of the evening. Anatomy final exam tomorrow.

Day 37 - Trigger Me Quads

Shiver me timbers and trigger me quads. Well, that's about all I have for PIRATE tonight. After a lovely weekend of relaxing, studying, and seeing family, it was back to the grind today. The J-O-B went well - you know, another day. Actually, I went to lunch at a gracious friend's house and enjoyed a pork BBQ sammie with coleslaw, beans, and some grapes. A lovely lunch, I must say.
Sorry, I got distracted by talking about food. I guess that happens after a full evening of class and eating dinner about six hours ago.
In our challenging Trigger Points class, we studied the Anterior Thigh and its treatments. Since I had been doing so much studying over the weekend, I actually was able to follow along and "get" most of what the instructor was saying. We learned about some pathologies of the knees, which are some of the most easily injured joints in the body.
After the lecture portion of class, it was time for bodywork. I got to work on my partner, who had pretty tight IT bands (iliotibial bands). He nearly came off the table a couple times as I worked on them. And then it was my turn. My IT bands were fine, but it seems that my Vastus Intermedius was the more sensitive of the muscles. Apparently, there's even a golfball sized knot in one of my quads. I look forward to getting that one worked out. I think.
My classmates are definitely getting to be a tight-knit group. What else do you expect when you see each other four nights a week, and many times, in - uh - less than flattering positions? You get to know people pretty well when you know that they wear boxers or briefs, or boxer-briefs. How their kids are doing or how their kids relate to other kids in school because we share stories. Hearing their tummies growl while you massage their legs.
I'm finding that it's truly honoring to have a "client" allow me to do what I need to do to help them. Whether it be to really work the muscles to get them to where they need to be or it's just to help the client feel good with a lighter session, it's an honor to share that sort of connection with them.

Day 36 - Just Another Day in Paradise

On my way to and from school, I listen to the radio or chat on the phone, hands-free, of course. A couple days ago, I don't remember which day as they all run together many times, I was listening to the radio and the song "Another Day in Paradise" came on the radio with some sort of sound bite from Phil Collins about how he wrote it. To make a long story short, tonight's class was just another day. It seemed routine - nothing really out of the ordinary. We were in trigger point class again, learning about how to treat low-back pain. We finished up by doing the hands-on bodywork.
My partner seemed to have hit some really tough spots on my lower back. Over an hour later, and it's still warm and tingly from the work he did on it.
As for something interesting that happened - today at the J-O-B, while the big-wigs were working on a last minute proposal, one of the directors called me in and asked (do they ever really "ask" or just demand?) me to work on the VP's neck that had a crick in it. Of course, with this being a bioscience company and the VP I'm sure had more biology than I will ever dream of, she described that she had a pinched nerve by her C2 vertebrae. I worked on it for her and within about 2 mintues, lo-and-behold, I found a trigger point! She felt what she described as a "wave" going down her arm. After working on it for a bit, she felt better and I went about with my normal duties.
I guess word is getting around at the J-O-B about my moonlighting classes, huh?

Day 35 - We Lost on Jeopardy

We took our last 10 point quiz this evening and I got a 10 out of 10 again - on the Cardiovascular System. After the quiz, we learned the last portion of stuff we needed to know about the Cardiovascular System at this time - about the vessels.
After we learned all we needed to know, our teacher had a neat way of reviewing for the final exam next week. We played Jeopardy! She had it on a Power Point slide show and used that for the questions and stuff. I was on the winning team, up until we played "Final Jeopardy" and we lost in the very last round. However, it was a great way to review for the upcoming final exam and we got handouts to go with it so we can continue to study at home.
I can't believe that we're coming up on our next final exams! After that, we'll start a whole new round of classes. How exciting!

Day 34 - The Glutes Have It - No If's, And's, or Butts!

In today's class in Trigger Points, we studied the Glutemus muscles. We learned which muscles were where and how to work them. During the bodywork portion, we worked on the Glute muscles, looking for trigger points in our partners. Even prior to this class, I had noticed that whenever a massage therapist worked on my glutes, it felt GOOD! Like I had some sort of tenseness in those muscles that you don't even really think about at all. Tonight was no exception. After the session was over, my butt felt great! Think about it - you think about your neck and shoulders feeling tight, but do you ever really think of the muscles that you actually sit on all the time!?!?!
I am pretty sure that both my partner and I found tender spots on each other, but not necessarily trigger points. Maybe next time.

Day 33 - What a Heart...and other Cardiovascular Parts

Prior to my arrival to day 33 of the program, I was returning from a long weekend in Cape May, NJ with my sisters - a Girls' Weekend, if you will. I had a little bit of time to study when I wasn't sitting on the front porch, sipping cawfie, shopping down at the promenade, or checking out the (yuck) sites in Atlantic City. I thought Atlantic City was a dirty place and I don't really care to go back. I felt like I needed to bathe myself in hand sanitizer after leaving. On my way back today, I had actually taken the Lewes-Cape May Ferry, and definitely enjoyed the ride and the drive back to school. Much better than going up close to Philly and down I-95. Ugh! No way!!!!
Anyway, back to class.
First thing in class...you guessed it - another quiz on anatomy! This time it was the Endocrine System. I aced it, getting 10 points out of 10 points. My sister, Nita, helped me study a little bit by doing flashcards with me. Thanks, Nita!
After the quiz, we began learning about the Cardiovascular System. No, I did not want to go do aerobics after the class. Although it did help me learn why it's good to keep the heart healthy, despite my laziness/inability to do anything about it right now due to my schedule.
We learned all about how blood flows through the left and right atrials, the valves, and the ventricles. We got to color in pictures of the heart to understand all of its parts and how they work.
Interesting, though...the heart isn't really all that heart-shaped.

Day 32 - Trigger a Memory

One of the things I have learned about trigger points is that they aren't always "active" - as in causing pain right now, but once they are touched, they are painful. For instance, if a little league pitcher goes on to play baseball in high school and then college, but doesn't play after college, he may have a trigger point that was active at one time because of the baseball he played. However, once he stops playing, he doesn't have that pain anymore. Many years later, if somebody touches the spot that used to be painful, it will hurt again. Hence the name "latent" trigger point. It's like it has a memory.
We had more of a "normal" class today, with our 37 or so people in it, not the combined classes we have been having while teachers are being shuffled. I, for one, was glad to be back to "normal" in this particular class of trigger points because honestly, I haven't been getting it as well as I'd like.
I found a trigger point on my partner tonight, which was just like they described - when I was compressing on her subscapula from the side, she jumped and said the pain shot down her leg. For those of you who don't know, let me explain where subscapula is. "Sub" means under. "Scapula" is the shoulder blade. So, I was basically digging under her shoulder blade from the side.
With the teacher's instruction, I did what I needed to do to work out the trigger point and she said she didn't feel it anymore. Yay me!
So, next time you go get a massage, tell them that you would like them to do some subscapula work and see what your therapist says.

Day 31 - Thai-ing the Knot

I forgot to add something to last night's entry. One of our TA's for last night's class is currently taking a Continuing Education class in Thai massage. From the little bit I've learned about it, it's like Yoga for lazy people because somebody else is doing the stretching for you, using your body. Our TA was demonstrating a few moves to a few of us using a classmate as the guinea pig. He had her upside down with him on the floor and her glutes on his knees. She was almost in a backbend position with him supporting her. In another move, she was lying on the floor, on her back, and he picked up her legs by the ankles, crossed them around his legs and he did a squat, stretching her quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, and goodness knows what else. It fascinated me, seeing as how she was pretty much a pretzel. I think I'll have to be in better shape to try that. From either end...giving or receiving!
As far as tonight's class goes, we had another quiz on the nervous system. Despite not having the luxury of being able to study like I did over the weekend, between work and school and driving to or from, I managed to earn a 9.5 out of 10.
After the quiz, we learned about the Endocrine System and the basics about all the glands that make up this system. We learned about how the endocrine system uses positive feedback and negative feedback to control its systems and the hormones the glands release. To sum it all up with an example, we went over the system's role in the female menstrual cycle. One of the classmates declared that he was glad he was a guy.
In learning this, I also discovered that I am looking forward to learning pathology in regards to the endocrine system. For those of you like me, who don't (or didn't) know what "pathology" is, it's the study of why certain systems don't work the way they're supposed to. Or at least, that's my understanding of what it is now. Check back with me next week...well, how about tomorrow?

Day 30 - Trigger and a Pain in the Neck

We had some more lecture about trigger points in the neck and head, and potential injuries that we may see as Massage Therapists (whiplash, TMJD, and other stuff), and then did some bodywork to practice what we had learned. One of the things we learned about trigger points the very first night was that not everybody will have them. Also, they can be caused by an event, such as a sports injury, or caused by perpetuation, like bad posture.
Sunday night, as I was practicing on WGH, I was palpating his scapula (that means I was feeling around his shoulder blade), and he jumped and said that he felt a little pain in his foot when I touched in a certain area area his scapula.
HOT DOG! I found a trigger point! I got a real chance to see what I had just started learning last week! I tried working it out a little from my memory. I'll get it next time, for sure.
This evening, as my partner worked on my neck, I had almost a shooting pain in one area she was working, but didn't feel it in any other part of my body, which is a tell-tale sign of a trigger point. It was quite fascinating to feel as she worked on it and learned in practice the theories we heard about in lecture.
I can tell that WGH is going to be getting some neck work in from me as I need to practice a lot more.

Day 29 - Nervous Progress

This evening's class represented my progress in learning the nervous system, as we had our first QUIZ! I've been graded on written and hands-on final exams and I've been graded on homework, but tonight, we had our first quiz, worth only 10 points, in Anatomy, and more specifically, the Nervous System. More importantly than the points, though, it demonstrated where I may need to study more or if I'm studying enough. To make a long story short, I got a 100%, so I guess I'm stduying well enough.

After the quiz, we learned even MORE about the nervous system, specifically the Central Nervous system, and the different names for connective tissue and spaces within the brain, like dura mater, pia mater, and arachnoid mater.
Even prior to this class, I had a tendancy to break down words when I heard new vocobulary, sometimes taking it back to the Latin roots and such. So, do you know what these names actually translate to?
Dura Mater - Strong Mother
Pia Mater - Delicate Mother
Arachnoid Mater - Spider-like Mother
I like Dura and Pia, but Spider-like? When looking at the anatomical reason for that name, it makes sense, but I think that most mothers out there may be slighty weirded out by that.
We colored some brain pictures to get used to where things are, and I realized that my coloring skills haven't improved that much since I was five. We learned about craniosacral fluid, where it's produced, not in Colorado, but in the Choroid Plexus, and also what it does - protects the brain, giving it cushion to keep from bumping up against the skull everytime it gets jolted.
Speaking of brains, mine is on overload, so good night and watch out for Spider-Mothers.

Day 28 - Trigger in Action

This evening, we looked at Trigger Points again, learning more of what to do about trigger points and how working them out can benefit a client. We got to get with partners and put into practice what we've learned in theory. One interesting thing about trigger point therapy is that it's done mostly without lotion.
Speaking of lotion and oils, have I mentioned that we use mostly lotion? I had always thought that oils were the preferred lubricant when doing massages, but they (the school staff) encourage lotions instead. Very interesting.
Back to trigger points. Despite not having had the classes in anatomy that teach about the skeletal system or the muscular system, we need to know quite a bit of those systems just to be able to know what the teachers are talking about. For instance, tonight, we were told to palpate the Iliad Crest. As I was wondering what it was during the bodywork portion, I did a couple things: watch classmates and then go up to the big poster in the room with the skeletal system laid out with numbers and descriptions. I guess I'll have some studying to do this weekend. Between the nervous system quiz for the anatomy class and learning muscular and skeletal parts, I'll be quite busy, I'm sure.
As for going to class on a Friday night, it wasn't too bad actually. The really great thing was knowing that I don't actually have to get up anytime early in the morning.

Day 27 - The Temporal Lobe and the Space-Time Continuum

We had yet ANOTHER night of lecture tonight and by the third night of no bodywork, my eyes are glazing over a bit and my head just may explode. Well, would it be my brain instead? Along with its cerebellum, front lobe, parietal lobe, and my favorite part of the space/time continuum, the temporal lobe.

Ooops, sorry. My geekness seeped out again. I may have admitted previously to being a bit of a geek. Possibly.
Why is it that learning anatomy makes me think about Star Trek?
Anyway, we delved into the brain, spinal cord, and some of the parts of the Peripheral Nervous System, like the Dorsal and Ventral Roots and the Dorsal Ramus and Ventral Ramus. Wasn't Harold Ramus in the Ghostbusters movies? Are Dorsal and Ventral his kids?
On another note, my class is becoming a pretty tight group, even with its many personalities, diversity, and humor. One of my classmates mentioned this evening that I'm shy! I guess I don't think of myself that way, and find it interesting that somebody else does.
Anyway, I am really punchy right now and must seriously go to inspect the inside of my eyelids.

Day 26 - Pull the Trigger

Do you have problems with your sciatic nerve? Do you have shooting pain sometimes or pretty much all the time? I learned tonight that sometimes these issues are actually with dense muscle fibers that need to be worked out and they're called "trigger points." In learning about trigger points, we'll be learning how to alleviate the pain associated with them.
Just as a note, too. They hurt. When they're getting worked on, it will hurt. One of the indications that we're hitting the trigger point is called a "jump sign." That's when the client jumps as you touch the trigger point.
We learned lots more vocabulary and concepts. More flashcards.
I also learned that one of my classmates says he can read minds.

Day 25 - Getting a Little Nervous

I began my first Anatomy class. I can't remember if I've ever even HAD an anatomy class - even in high school. During this four week class of Anatomy, we'll be studying the Nervous System, the Endocrine System, and something else. I forget what it is without looking at the syllabus. Eh, you'll find out later anyway.
We learned tonight that the nervous system is kinda like a biological computer - it takes input in, processes it, and spits out output. We learned about neurons, synapse, myelin, and a bunch of other words that I'm going to have to write down on flashcards, with descriptions on the back.

Part of me has a nerd-like fascination about this - as talking about synapse reminds me of Star Trek because Dr Beverly Crusher would talk about the double synaptic relays that Klingons like Lt Worf have - and part of me wants to blankly stare into space. And yet another part wants to take everything in because it's the nervous system that is mostly affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a disease that my brother was diagnosed with in 1991. I'm sure I will be learning more about MS when we get to the Pathology section.
Whatever happens from today on, I'm a bit nervous, but I can almost see me going "geek" with this.
I also found out that I have a 4.0 GPA right now. Yay!
Let the fun begin!