Musculoskeletal Anatomy: is it necessary to know the details?

I have completed the Jing Massage Training course in Advanced Musculoskeletal Anatomy. I can now name in order the eight carpal bones in the wrist*. But does this information make a difference to the treatment that you receive when you visit me for a massage? Or is it just another certificate to add to the one-more-qualification box?

Ok, so honestly, I haven’t found naming the bones out loud useful when treating a client’s wrist pain. But understanding that the numerous muscles that flex the wrist attach in the vicinity of the inner elbow (including the medial epicondyle of the humerus) does allow me to treat the arm with specificity and relieve symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome and similar conditions. I know exactly where the biceps attach to the scapula and how they play a big role in supination, the action of rotating the lower arm allowing us to hold objects. This has allowed me to treat with specificity a client whose arm pain meant he was struggling to play his beloved guitar. One of the most important parts of my job is getting clients back to doing the activities they love!

Often during a massage, as a client you will have no idea of what is going on under the skin. This is great! Because the more you can switch off the brain and calm the nervous system the more effective my work will be. But now and again you might notice my thinking face as I recall random details from my advanced musculoskeletal anatomy training.

* If you’re interested, they are scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate – remembered by the pneumonic ‘some lovers try positions that they can’t handle’ – although honestly getting those t-named bones in the correct order remains hit & miss for me!