21 Kinesiology Practice Questions & Answers

Every Kinesiology practice question from the MBLEx Massage Therapy Practice Test, with the correct answer and a short explanation.

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1. A client tilts the head so the right ear moves toward the right shoulder while the face turns toward the left. Contraction of a single muscle on one side produces both parts of that movement. Which muscle is it?
- A.The right sternocleidomastoid✓ Answer
- B.The right upper trapezius
- C.The left sternocleidomastoid
- D.The right anterior scalene
Acting on one side, the sternocleidomastoid laterally flexes the head toward the same side and rotates the face toward the opposite side, so right ear to right shoulder with the face turned left is the right sternocleidomastoid. Acting bilaterally the pair flexes the neck instead.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: skeletal muscle locations, attachments and actionsReport a problem with this question
2. A therapist holds sustained, moderate pressure at the musculotendinous junction of a tight calf and the muscle gradually softens. Which receptor and response best explain that change?
- A.The Golgi tendon organ senses tension and the same muscle relaxes✓ Answer
- B.The muscle spindle senses length and the same muscle relaxes
- C.The Golgi tendon organ senses joint position and the antagonist relaxes
- D.The muscle spindle senses tension and the antagonist contracts
The Golgi tendon organ lies in series at the musculotendinous junction and responds to tension, triggering autogenic inhibition so the muscle generating that tension relaxes. The spindle sits in the muscle belly and responds to length, which is a different stimulus and a different reflex.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: proprioceptorsReport a problem with this question
3. During a hamstring stretch the client bounces rapidly at the end of the range, and the hamstrings tighten instead of releasing. What accounts for that response?
- A.The Golgi tendon organ registers the rapid change in length and contracts the hamstrings
- B.The muscle spindle registers rising tendon tension and relaxes the quadriceps
- C.The muscle spindle registers the rapid change in length and contracts the hamstrings✓ Answer
- D.The joint receptors register the end-range position and relax the hamstrings
The muscle spindle detects both length and the rate of change in length, so a fast or bouncing stretch fires the stretch reflex and the muscle being stretched contracts. A slow, sustained stretch lets the spindle accommodate, which is why static work lengthens tissue more effectively.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: proprioceptorsReport a problem with this question
4. While the therapist stretches the hamstrings, the client is asked to actively contract the quadriceps, and the hamstrings release more easily. Which mechanism is being used?
- A.Autogenic inhibition, in which contraction of the quadriceps inhibits the quadriceps
- B.Reciprocal inhibition, in which contraction of the quadriceps inhibits the hamstrings✓ Answer
- C.Reciprocal inhibition, in which contraction of the hamstrings inhibits the quadriceps
- D.Autogenic inhibition, in which tension in the hamstring tendons inhibits the quadriceps
Reciprocal inhibition means that when an agonist contracts, the nervous system inhibits its antagonist, so contracting the quadriceps neurologically quiets the hamstrings being stretched. Autogenic inhibition is the separate reflex in which a muscle's own tendon tension relaxes that same muscle.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: proprioceptorsReport a problem with this question
5. A client slowly lowers a dumbbell from a fully flexed elbow to a straight arm, controlling the descent the whole way. What is the biceps brachii doing?
- A.Staying relaxed while the triceps brachii lowers the load by contracting
- B.Contracting isometrically, holding one length throughout the descent
- C.Contracting eccentrically, lengthening under tension during the descent✓ Answer
- D.Contracting concentrically, shortening under tension during the descent
An eccentric contraction is one in which the muscle produces tension while lengthening, which is how gravity-resisted lowering is braked. Because the load is being decelerated rather than lifted, the elbow flexors lengthen under load rather than the triceps lifting the weight.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: concepts of skeletal muscle contractionsReport a problem with this question
6. A client stands still holding a heavy bag with the elbow bent at ninety degrees, and neither the elbow angle nor the muscle length changes. What kind of contraction is the biceps brachii producing?
- A.A concentric contraction, with tension as the muscle shortens
- B.An eccentric contraction, with tension as the muscle lengthens
- C.An isometric contraction, with tension but no change in length✓ Answer
- D.An isotonic contraction, with tension as the joint angle changes
Isometric means equal length: the muscle develops tension but the joint angle and the muscle length stay the same, which is exactly what a static hold requires. Isotonic contractions, whether concentric or eccentric, involve a change in muscle length and joint position.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: concepts of skeletal muscle contractionsReport a problem with this question
7. A client curls a weight toward the shoulder. The biceps brachii drives the motion, the brachialis assists it, and the scapular muscles steady the shoulder girdle. What role is the triceps brachii playing?
- A.The synergist, the muscle that refines the motion
- B.The fixator, the muscle that steadies the origin
- C.The antagonist, the muscle that opposes the motion✓ Answer
- D.The agonist, the muscle that drives the motion
The antagonist is the muscle on the opposite side of the joint from the prime mover; it must lengthen and is neurologically inhibited so the motion can happen. Here elbow flexion is the movement, so the elbow extensor is the antagonist rather than a helper or stabilizer.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: concepts of skeletal muscle contractionsReport a problem with this question
8. Resisted shoulder abduction is painful and weak, while passive abduction of the same shoulder is full and pain free. What does this pattern point toward?
- A.Involvement of inert tissue, meaning the joint capsule or bursa
- B.Involvement of ligament laxity, meaning an unstable joint
- C.Involvement of a bony block, meaning bone meeting bone
- D.Involvement of contractile tissue, meaning muscle or tendon✓ Answer
Resisted testing loads the contractile unit while the joint is held still, so pain and weakness there with a clean passive range implicates muscle or tendon rather than joint structures. The therapist documents the finding and refers as needed; naming the condition would be a diagnosis and outside scope.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: range of motion, active, passive and resistedReport a problem with this question
9. Which finding is available to the therapist only when the therapist moves the client's relaxed limb, rather than when the client moves it?
- A.The strength, the force the client can generate against resistance
- B.The endurance, the client's tolerance of repeated motion
- C.The willingness, the client's guarding of a painful motion
- D.The end feel, the quality of resistance at the end of range✓ Answer
End feel is the quality of resistance the therapist perceives at the very end of passive range, so it can only be felt when the client's muscles are not doing the moving. Strength, willingness and endurance are all read from what the client does actively.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: range of motion, active, passive and resistedReport a problem with this question
10. In a healthy joint, passive range of motion is normally slightly greater than active range of motion. What explains that difference?
- A.Passive movement is not limited by the client's own muscular effort✓ Answer
- B.Passive movement is limited by the same contractile tissue as active movement
- C.Passive movement is stopped earlier by the ligaments than active movement
- D.Passive movement recruits additional synergist muscles and so travels further
Active range depends on the client's strength, coordination and willingness to move, while passive range is taken up to the resistance of the inert structures by the therapist. Removing the muscular limit is what usually lets the passive range go a little further.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: range of motion, active, passive and resistedReport a problem with this question
11. When a client pushes both hands against a wall, the medial border of one scapula lifts away from the ribcage. Which muscle's function is compromised?
- A.The rhomboid major, which retracts the scapula
- B.The serratus anterior, which protracts the scapula✓ Answer
- C.The levator scapulae, which elevates the scapula
- D.The lower trapezius, which depresses the scapula
The serratus anterior protracts and upwardly rotates the scapula and holds its medial border flat against the ribs, so when it fails the border wings outward during pushing. Loss of its nerve supply, the long thoracic nerve, is the classic reason that function is lost.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: skeletal muscle locations, attachments and actionsReport a problem with this question
12. A client stands on the right leg and the left side of the pelvis drops. Which muscle is most likely weak?
- A.The left gluteus medius, a hip abductor
- B.The right gluteus maximus, a hip extensor
- C.The right adductor longus, a hip adductor
- D.The right gluteus medius, a hip abductor✓ Answer
During single-leg stance the hip abductors of the standing leg hold the opposite side of the pelvis level, so a pelvis that drops on the swing side points to weakness on the stance side. That is why the dropping side and the weak side are opposite each other.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: skeletal muscle locations, attachments and actionsReport a problem with this question
13. A client reports sharp pain in the very first degrees of lifting the arm out to the side, before the deltoid takes over the motion. Which muscle is implicated?
- A.The teres major, a scapular muscle that adducts
- B.The subscapularis, a cuff muscle that rotates medially
- C.The supraspinatus, a cuff muscle that abducts✓ Answer
- D.The infraspinatus, a cuff muscle that rotates laterally
The supraspinatus initiates abduction of the humerus through the earliest part of the range, after which the deltoid becomes the main abductor. Pain concentrated in those first degrees therefore points to the muscle that starts the movement.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: skeletal muscle locations, attachments and actionsReport a problem with this question
14. A seated client rotates the trunk toward the left. Which abdominal muscle is a prime mover for that rotation?
- A.The right internal oblique, which rotates the trunk to the left
- B.The right external oblique, which rotates the trunk to the left✓ Answer
- C.The right rectus abdominis, which rotates the trunk toward the left
- D.The left external oblique, which rotates the trunk to the left
The external oblique rotates the trunk toward the opposite side, so left rotation is driven by the right external oblique. The internal oblique rotates toward its own side, and the rectus abdominis flexes the trunk rather than rotating it.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: skeletal muscle locations, attachments and actionsReport a problem with this question
15. Postural assessment shows an anterior pelvic tilt with an exaggerated lumbar curve. Which muscle is typically shortened and holding the pelvis in that position?
- A.The hamstrings, knee flexors shortened and tilting the pelvis anteriorly
- B.The iliopsoas, a hip flexor shortened and tilting the pelvis anteriorly✓ Answer
- C.The gluteus maximus, an extensor shortened and tilting the pelvis anteriorly
- D.The rectus abdominis, a flexor shortened and tilting the pelvis anteriorly
The iliopsoas runs from the lumbar spine and inner ilium to the lesser trochanter, so when it shortens it pulls the front of the pelvis down and the lumbar curve deepens. The hamstrings, gluteus maximus and rectus abdominis all pull the pelvis the other way, into a posterior tilt.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: skeletal muscle locations, attachments and actionsReport a problem with this question
16. A client who works long hours at a keyboard presents with rounded shoulders and a forward head. Which pairing of shortened and lengthened muscles fits that pattern?
- A.Middle trapezius shortened, pectoralis major lengthened
- B.Pectoralis major shortened, middle trapezius lengthened✓ Answer
- C.Rhomboid major shortened, pectoralis minor lengthened
- D.Deep neck flexors shortened, upper trapezius fibers lengthened
Rounded shoulders mean the scapulae sit protracted, so the anterior chest muscles that pull them forward are held short while the retractors between the scapulae are held long and weak. The imbalance always runs in that direction: the side the posture moves toward is the shortened side.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: skeletal muscle locations, attachments and actionsReport a problem with this question
17. A client rolls the ankle inward and injures a band of tissue that runs from one bone to another on the outside of the ankle. How is that injury classified, and why?
- A.A strain, because a ligament joins bone to bone
- B.A strain, because a tendon joins muscle to the bone
- C.A sprain, because a tendon joins muscle to the bone
- D.A sprain, because a ligament joins bone to bone✓ Answer
Tissue running from bone to bone is a ligament, and an injury to a ligament is called a sprain; a strain is the corresponding injury to muscle or tendon. Keeping the two attachments straight is what makes the naming straightforward.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: joint structure and functionReport a problem with this question
18. How is the joint at the base of the thumb classified, where the trapezium meets the first metacarpal and the thumb can be brought across to oppose the fingers?
- A.A saddle joint, which is biaxial in movement✓ Answer
- B.A pivot joint, which is uniaxial in movement
- C.A hinge joint, which is uniaxial in movement
- D.A plane joint, which is nonaxial in its movement
The first carpometacarpal joint has reciprocally curved surfaces, one concave in one direction and convex in the other, which is the saddle shape and allows movement in two planes plus the combined motion of opposition. Uniaxial hinge and pivot joints and nonaxial gliding joints cannot produce opposition.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: joint structure and functionReport a problem with this question
19. Which structure is the functional contractile unit of a skeletal muscle fiber?
- A.The sarcomere, the segment lying between two Z lines✓ Answer
- B.The myofibril, the strand running along the fiber
- C.The fascicle, the bundle wrapped in perimysium
- D.The sarcolemma, the membrane covering the fiber
The sarcomere is the repeating unit of overlapping actin and myosin bounded by two Z lines, and shortening of these units is what shortens the whole muscle. Myofibrils are chains of sarcomeres, while the fascicle and the sarcolemma are organizational rather than contractile.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: skeletal muscle components and characteristicsReport a problem with this question
20. Which connective tissue layer wraps the entire muscle and becomes continuous with its tendon?
- A.The epimysium, the outermost layer of the muscle✓ Answer
- B.The endomysium, the layer around each fiber
- C.The deep fascia, the layer around muscle groups
- D.The perimysium, the layer around each fascicle
The three sheaths nest from the fiber outward as endomysium, perimysium and epimysium, and it is the outermost of them that surrounds the whole muscle and merges into the tendon. That continuity is why pulling on the tendon transmits force from every fiber.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: skeletal muscle components and characteristicsReport a problem with this question
21. When a muscle contracts with the body in anatomical position, how do its two attachments usually behave?
- A.The origin travels toward the insertion, which stays fixed
- B.The insertion moves away from the origin as the force rises
- C.Both attachments move equally toward the muscle belly
- D.The insertion moves toward the origin, which stays fixed✓ Answer
By convention the origin is the more proximal and more fixed attachment and the insertion is the more distal and more movable one, so contraction draws the insertion toward the origin. Knowing which end is anchored is what lets a therapist predict the movement a muscle will produce.
Source: FSMTB MBLEx Content Outline, Kinesiology: skeletal muscle components and characteristicsReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the FSMTB MBLEx content outline and standard massage therapy curriculum. MBLEx is a mark of the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards; this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by FSMTB. Licensing requirements — education hours, license title, continuing education, and fees — are set by each state board, so confirm your own state's rules before you apply. Nothing here is medical advice. About the MBLEx →

1. A client tilts the head so the right ear moves toward the right shoulder while the face turns toward the left. Contraction of a single muscle on one side produces both parts of that movement. Which muscle is it?

2. A therapist holds sustained, moderate pressure at the musculotendinous junction of a tight calf and the muscle gradually softens. Which receptor and response best explain that change?

3. During a hamstring stretch the client bounces rapidly at the end of the range, and the hamstrings tighten instead of releasing. What accounts for that response?

4. While the therapist stretches the hamstrings, the client is asked to actively contract the quadriceps, and the hamstrings release more easily. Which mechanism is being used?

5. A client slowly lowers a dumbbell from a fully flexed elbow to a straight arm, controlling the descent the whole way. What is the biceps brachii doing?

6. A client stands still holding a heavy bag with the elbow bent at ninety degrees, and neither the elbow angle nor the muscle length changes. What kind of contraction is the biceps brachii producing?

7. A client curls a weight toward the shoulder. The biceps brachii drives the motion, the brachialis assists it, and the scapular muscles steady the shoulder girdle. What role is the triceps brachii playing?

8. Resisted shoulder abduction is painful and weak, while passive abduction of the same shoulder is full and pain free. What does this pattern point toward?

9. Which finding is available to the therapist only when the therapist moves the client's relaxed limb, rather than when the client moves it?

10. In a healthy joint, passive range of motion is normally slightly greater than active range of motion. What explains that difference?

11. When a client pushes both hands against a wall, the medial border of one scapula lifts away from the ribcage. Which muscle's function is compromised?

12. A client stands on the right leg and the left side of the pelvis drops. Which muscle is most likely weak?

13. A client reports sharp pain in the very first degrees of lifting the arm out to the side, before the deltoid takes over the motion. Which muscle is implicated?

14. A seated client rotates the trunk toward the left. Which abdominal muscle is a prime mover for that rotation?

15. Postural assessment shows an anterior pelvic tilt with an exaggerated lumbar curve. Which muscle is typically shortened and holding the pelvis in that position?

16. A client who works long hours at a keyboard presents with rounded shoulders and a forward head. Which pairing of shortened and lengthened muscles fits that pattern?

17. A client rolls the ankle inward and injures a band of tissue that runs from one bone to another on the outside of the ankle. How is that injury classified, and why?

18. How is the joint at the base of the thumb classified, where the trapezium meets the first metacarpal and the thumb can be brought across to oppose the fingers?

19. Which structure is the functional contractile unit of a skeletal muscle fiber?

20. Which connective tissue layer wraps the entire muscle and becomes continuous with its tendon?

21. When a muscle contracts with the body in anatomical position, how do its two attachments usually behave?