A Deeper Look At Deep Tissue Massage

Massage therapy is one of the many services we offer you at Cairnhill Physiotherapy and that includes deep tissue massage. You will have heard about deep tissue massage but you may not fully know how it works and what it can treat. Here is a quick look at what this massage technique involves and how it might help you.

As the name suggests, deep tissue massage refers to massage techniques that engage the body’s deeper muscle fibres. Other massage techniques are lighter and concentrate on the superficial layers. Not so with deep tissue massage. Many parts of the body have layers of muscle on top of each other. A good example is the upper back with superficial muscles like the trapezius on top, with the erector spinae muscles underneath them while even deeper are the transversospinalis muscles. Deep tissue massage techniques go through the other muscles to access the deepest layers. Due to the depth of the muscles being worked on, deep tissue massage is generally performed much slower than the more superficial massages you may have had in the past.

Deep tissue massage has been known to relieve painful conditions like sports injuries, tennis elbow, sciatica, fibromyalgia (widespread muscle pain) and plantar fasciitis ( inflammation of the thick band of tissue that connects your heel to your toes along the bottom of your foot.) It is just one of the massage techniques we use that have surprisingly good results; for example, an Australian study of complementary and alternative health treatments found moderate-quality evidence that massage can provide similar effects as over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications for both acute and chronic low back pain. With this in mind, massage therapy, including deep tissue massage could be what you need to relieve pain and get fully mobile again.

While you may not know a great deal about the inner workings of deep tissue massage, chances are you have heard that it hurts! Actually, deep tissue massage is not always painful. For most people, there will be a certain amount of discomfort experienced during this form of massage treatment and for others, there will be some pain. Given the therapeutic benefits, it could be considered a “good pain” but it should never be overwhelming. Good massage therapists, like us, will encourage you to speak up if you experience pain that becomes intolerable. We’ll check in with you throughout the treatment to ask how you are feeling as well.

Some discomfort will be well worth it. Deep tissue massage really does address underlying conditions simply through the nature of the technique. It’s worth considering if you’ve been in pain for too long and if you are worried about becoming too dependent on medication. Contact us to find out more.