First of all, a little background on me. My name is Adrian Keeley and I am a Massage Therapist in Las Vegas.
Most often the massage technique I use is Deep Tissue Massage. Deep Tissue differs from a Swedish massage because with deep tissue, you are trying to work into the muscle fibers and belly to release adhesions and encourage blood flow and recovery. The technique differs in the use of your tools (Knuckles, forearm, elbow) the depth, and the speed of the stroke.
The Tool can depend on the muscle being worked. An elbow might be too strong for a neck and could bruise, but a knuckle or fist can provide a great depth and stroke but be less painful and intense.
The reverse can be said for a large muscle like the quadriceps, and elbow or forearm have the depth and strength to get into the muscles and be more steady for the practitioner. The intended effect of a deep tissue massage is to strip adhesions and to try to let the muscles move with more freedom of motion and ease of stretch.
To achieve this quickly there is a chance that the recipient of a deep tissue massage would be sore the day after a session. I inform most of my clients that they should fell about as sore as is they had a good workout the day before.
If there are any area’s that are very sore or bruised then the session was too deep.
If this happens then the practitioner needs to take care with depth and duration. They might need to make sure that the tissue’s are carefully warmed up and start slowly with the upper layers and take time to work through one layer of tissue at a time until the massage meets a workable depth.
Also, there are many things to take into consideration like age, medications, and physical condition. An older patient, or a person in poor physical shape will not be able to take as much pressure as an athlete or someone who keeps all of their muscles working and loose. I have many clients that I start slow with and while the sessions progress we get deeper and get more work done as the body adjusts to the bodywork. There are always evolving techniques in the massage community as through the years deep tissue massage has evolved into separate categories and specialties.
Deep Tissue Massage is used in many different modalities including Sports Massage, Injury Massage, and Structural Massage. I will address these other modalities in future articles as well as diving deeper into the history and techniques of Deep Tissue Massage.
A couple of things to keep in mind if you are interested in receiving a deep tissue massage. Be clear with your Therapist the area’s that you want to receive deep work and the area’s that you want lighter work on, be prepared for a little pain as the work is done, and be vocal with your therapist, if something is too deep let them know, if you need more pressure let them know, and remember its your massage so enjoy it.
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