How Does A Deep Tissue Massage Help Loosen Muscles?
Many types of clients turn to massage appointments to find relief from their sore muscles. Injury, overuse, and poor posture are all culprits of muscle pain, and a massage is a popular remedy for relieving soreness and tension. But what makes a deep tissue massage different?
The difference from other massage types is in how deep tissue massage loosens muscles. By targeting more parts of the body and reducing their inelasticity, deep tissue massage is more than relaxation!
What Makes Deep Tissue Massage Unique?
As the name suggests, deep tissue massage targets more parts of your musculoskeletal system than relaxation or Swedish massage, parts that are are further below the skin. The massage expert uses slow strokes and firm pressure to affect these layers of muscles, ligaments, and surrounding connective tissues.
A deep tissue massage starts with light pressure that prepares the muscles. After these tissues are ready, the massage expert will apply deep pressure using their elbow, forearm, knuckles and thumbs. Every part of this appointment is designed to reach the sub-layer of muscles and the fascia, the connective tissue surrounding muscles.
How Deep Tissue Massages Loosen Muscles
The movements of a deep tissue massage are slower, the pressure reaches a deeper level, and the massage expert concentrates on areas of tension and pain to make the muscles more elastic. Inelastic muscular tissues cause restriction and increase muscle tightness; a deep tissue massage increases blood flow, raises the muscle temperature, and reduces muscular inelasticity.
A deep tissue massage lengthens and relaxes any inelastic tissue that may be causing pain, stiffness, and other problems. In areas where you suffer from a past injury or chronic muscle tension, generally, you’ll find bands of painful, rigid tissue called adhesions in the affected muscles, tendons, and ligaments. The firm pressure applied during a deep tissue massage can break up this tissue and realign the fibres.
By elongating and relaxing muscles and connective tissue, the deep targeting of massage makes it ideal for relieving pain and stiffness. Some secondary benefits include faster recovery of muscle strains and sprains; the improvement of circulation to reduce swelling or the buildup of fluid around an injury; and the restoration of ranges of motion.
Your Deep Tissue Massage Should Loosen, Not Make You Tense!
Despite its reputation, deep tissue massage should not feel uncomfortable! Pain causes your body to tense, making it more difficult for the deep tissue massage to reach the deeper layers of muscle. Clients shouldn’t accept pain as natural because the tension it causes actively ruins the benefits deep tissue massage can have for some conditions. These include injury recovery, chronic pain, and certain inflammatory diseases.
If, during treatment, you feel any discomfort, tell your massage expert so she can adjust the pressure to your liking immediately. You should never be uncomfortable as our goal is a higher level of relaxation and comfort!
