Deep Tissue Massage

What is Deep Tissue Massage? Deep tissue massage is a specialist myotherapy technique that focuses on realigning the muscles and connective tissues at a level that goes deeper than the surface skin layers. The strokes used are slower and the pressure applied is deeper than it is the case with massage that is performed for relaxation purposes and the treatmen is focused on the areas that are experiencing the chronic pain. Wherever there is chronic muscle tension or injury one of the biggest problems is that there are usually adhesions present – bands of rigid tissue that are in themselves painful. Deep tissue massage works by actually breaking down these adhesions which will not only help relieve pain but over time will help restore more normal movement as well. In order to do that a trained deep tissue myotherapist will use direct deep pressure applied across the “grain” of the affected muscles and tendons. So How Much Will Deep Tissue Massage Hurt? At certain points during a deep tissue massage a client will very often experience some discomfort – and yes at times a little pain. You should not be left crying in pain though, if the levels are above what you can tolerate you should always let your myotherapist know so that they can adjust the technique a little to make you more comfortable. There may also be a little lingering discomfort for a short while after the massage is over but for many people the relief from the chronic pain they experience afterwards makes it all worthwhile. Deep tissue massage is very effective for relieving some of the most troublesome and hard to treat forms of chronic pain – lower back pain, osteoarthritis pain, pain from older sports injuries and even fibromyalgia pain, something that is notoriously hard to treat effectively using conventional medicine. It can also be effective in relieving the pain caused by repetitive stress disorders like carpal tunnel as well as for simply relieving muscle tension that can often cause horrible pain that pain medications just do not “touch”.