Glossary
Massage Therapist Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential massage therapist terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key massage therapist vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in massage therapist training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Body mechanics
- Using your body efficiently.
- Contraindication
- A reason not to massage.
- Deep tissue
- Firm pressure for deeper muscles.
- Draping
- Covering clients for privacy.
- Effleurage
- Gliding strokes.
- Intake form
- Client health history.
- MBLEx
- The licensing exam.
- Myofascial release
- Technique for connective tissue.
- Petrissage
- Kneading strokes.
- Prenatal massage
- Massage for pregnant clients.
- Range of motion
- How far joints move.
- SOAP notes
- Documentation format.
- Sports massage
- Massage for athletes.
- Swedish massage
- Long, gliding strokes for relaxation.
- Trigger point
- A tight, tender spot in muscle.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Massage Therapist practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Massage Therapist training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.