All done with Anatomy?

So unless you've got some resits, you are finished with your formal anatomy study.

My advice to you would be "don't forget about your anatomy".

Your level of anatomical knowledge is strongly related to understanding the use of assessment techniques and interpretation of assessment findings. Your ability to palpate and work with specific anatomical structures is crucial in the more advanced soft-tissue techniques which we will introduce next year.

You should be all thinking anatomy when you're working with clients, and if you're not sure what structures you're working with during the massage get out your anatomy notes/texts after the massage and clarify what they are. This will help to keep your anatomy fresh in your mind.

Final assessment on Thursday

Hi all,

I hope your studies are going well for the final anatomy assessment this Thursday.

Good luck.

The exam's in 3 weeks

We're down to the last three weeks of practice before your first Anatomy test. At this stage you really need to get in as much hands on practice as you can over the next three weeks. Test each other using the assessment schedule.

Good luck.

Week 6

If you're following the indicative schedule laid out in Week 2, then this week your task is to study the internal and external intercostal muscles.

By the end of the week you should have some familiarity with all of the muscles that you will be assessed on in the practical block following the Hot stones block.

Week 5

If you're following the indicated schedule, then this week you'll need to look at

• Deep laterial rotators
• Piriformis

By the end of the week, you should have covered the deeper muscles of the leg. Remember that if you are to retain information, you need to refresh your memory regularly. As well as studying the deeper muscles of the hip review all of the other muscles of the leg. One way to do this is to test yourself on the Winking skull website. Flashcards and palpation of body structures are also options.

Week 4

If you're following the indicative study schedule, you should by the end of the week be getting fairly familiar with all of the following.

• Extensor hallucis & digitorum longus
• Flexor hallucis & digitorum longus

• Peroneals
• Tibialis posterior
• Popliteus

• Tensor fascia latae
• Adductors

Keep working on memorisation of the muscles using the approaches that you've found to be good so far. And remember to get some palpation time to integrate your learning.

For those who are interested in another online anatomy option, you could try the Visible Body project. This is a pretty cool free online 3d model of the human body. You can remove structures layer by layer or body system by body system, you can move around the body & zoom in from different angles. It's a really great perspective on the body. You do need to set up an account to access the info on the site, and the speed (from here in NZ) is not very good, but it's still worth a look if you're in the mood for a different perspective on anatomy.

Week 3

You know what you need to do, so it's just a matter of going ahead and doing it. By the end of this week you should be starting to get pretty familiar with most of the deeper muscles of the lower leg.

How have you found the Winking Skull website? If you haven't yet made an account and tried it out, I strongly recommend it.

Irene's planning to hold a tutorial for anatomy on the Monday following the next block. This will be from 12-1pm on the Monday. Please email her to let her know if you will be able to attend it or not.