a community of practitioners

Primal Pictures

Does anyone use or have used this software? I think it should be implemented in the classroom at some point during the students time while in school. I think it gives them a very good visual on the subject matter

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Stephen Jeffrey on September 19, 2010 at 1:07pm

Hi Jason
please can you enlighten us as to why you think the anatomy trains model is unsuitable for basic A+P.

I only ask, as I see the adoption of an AT model into the classroom as of primary importance. Surely gifting this knowledge as early as possible offers the profession a potential leap forward ?

See http://www.massageprofessionals.com/group/MassageEducators/forum/to...

Jason Erickson said:

The massage school I attended incorporated this software into the curriculum over 5 years ago, and it is a tremendous help. Projected on a screen during technique training, it was much easier to visualize the structures within our partners' bodies. However, we also spent a lot of time in cadaver lab, so the Primal Pictures software was anticlimactic by comparison.

The Anatomy Trains software is nice, but unless you practice/teach AT material, much of it may be irrelevant to basic A&P instruction.

Gil Hedley's videos make dissection look like art, and his commentary and illustrations of related concepts throughout the presentation are great food for thought. For those unable to have cadaver lab as part of their A&P training, Gil's videos should be required viewing.

Permalink Reply by Jason Erickson on September 21, 2010 at 12:09am

For one, students struggling to learn basic musculoskeletal A&P are NOT ready to understand and utilize the AT conceptual framework. If they don't know the psoas from the iliacus from the sartorius from the soleus, how are they going to understand the complex interplay of these structures in the AT fascial and functional lines?

Further, basic A&P training traditionally takes a broader approach to understanding all of the various body systems. The circulatory, respiratory, and other systems all play an important part of developing a well-rounded if basic grasp of the body and all its various functions. With the exception of the integumentary system, all lie within bags of fascia, and their basic properties should be understood before delving into deep discussions of those fascial bags. The integumentary system is the only one we can make direct contact with, and should be somewhat better understood before examining the layers of connective tissue that anchor it to the underlying structures.

Last, the AT model is but one approach to evaluating structure and function. Focusing on it to the exclusion of all others may not be the "leap forward" you hope for. And frankly, there are simply not enough MT instructors who are competent in postural and movement analysis in general, let alone AT in particular, for this to happen. Many schools spend very little (if any) time on conducting detailed client verbal intakes, and fewer still spend any significant time on orthopedic tests or postural/movement analysis. Until this trend changes, we will continue to see a general paucity of instruction in these practical subjects.

As an employer, I'd love to see new grads coming out of school with a detailed knowledge of A&P, client intake and assessment methods, and the skills to act upon all that knowledge. But I don't see it. Even the "best" schools have glaring holes in their curriculums, and I know from interviewing hundreds of job applicants that even very experienced MTs are almost always very weak in these fundamentals.

AT is good CE stuff, but give me stronger fundamentals first.

Stephen Jeffrey said:

Hi Jason
please can you enlighten us as to why you think the anatomy trains model is unsuitable for basic A+P.

I only ask, as I see the adoption of an AT model into the classroom as of primary importance. Surely gifting this knowledge as early as possible offers the profession a potential leap forward ?

See http://www.massageprofessionals.com/group/MassageEducators/forum/to...

Jason Erickson said:
The massage school I attended incorporated this software into the curriculum over 5 years ago, and it is a tremendous help. Projected on a screen during technique training, it was much easier to visualize the structures within our partners' bodies. However, we also spent a lot of time in cadaver lab, so the Primal Pictures software was anticlimactic by comparison.

The Anatomy Trains software is nice, but unless you practice/teach AT material, much of it may be irrelevant to basic A&P instruction.

Gil Hedley's videos make dissection look like art, and his commentary and illustrations of related concepts throughout the presentation are great food for thought. For those unable to have cadaver lab as part of their A&P training, Gil's videos should be required viewing.