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pinaytherapist

Deep tissue and pain

What is a deep tissue massage? I hear a lot of clients that come to me and want a deep tissue massage, but are not really sure if they know what it is or is it that they want deep pressure? Deep tissue specifically focuses on and targets the deep layer of the fascia and muscle, which is the connective tissue. A lot of times, there’s built up adhesions and scar tissue from previous injury that has caused toxin build up in the muscle tissue. When toxins are released, this allows for proper oxygen, blood and nutrients to flow and circulate through the body.  Deep tissue can be intense but it should not be so painful that your body goes into protective mode and tense up, which causes changes in your breathing. Not good!

Quite a few of my clients expect to feel pain otherwise they feel there’s no gain. I often tell them, that’s a gym mentality. You know the saying- “no pain no gain”. But not in massage; that saying does not apply. If it’s too painful, it’s actually counterproductive. Your body is not healing if you are feeling intolerable pain and sucking it up.

I always make sure that I check on my clients to see how they are doing when I’m applying pressure. I can usually tell when it’s too much because I notice a change in their breathing. I actually feel the resistance in my scapula. So I ask, is the pressure ok? and for some they will be honest and say “it’s too much”, so I decrease the pressure. Then there are others who will say, “it hurts but you can apply more pressure”. That’s when I pause, and tell them to take a deep breath,  and also decrease the pressure. 🙂

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