Myths About Deep Tissue and Why You Need To Know Them

Deep tissue massage is the most requested style of massage and the most misunderstood. Deep tissue means we are working below the superficial layer of muscle in a therapeutic way to help relieve pain and tension. Here are the most common misconceptions people have about deep tissue and why it's important to change our perspective about it.

1. Deep Tissue Has To Hurt to Be Effective
This is the most common misconception I hear, not only from clients but other massage therapists. This couldn't be further from the truth. When we give massage, we are trying to bring the nervous system in to the parasympathetic state. This is vital because this is the state you do all your healing in. If we are causing a lot of pain, we activate the flight or fight part of the nervous system (sympathetic) and that makes it harder to release the knots, adhesion and fascia constriction. A feeling of "good" pain that feels relaxing and enjoyable is ok, but if you are gritting your teeth and can't breath deep and slow, it's too much pressure. Make sure to communicate with your therapist so they can adjust the pressure.

2. The deeper the better right?
Wrong! This is not necessarily true for many of the reasons previously discussed. If we want to influence your tissue, we have to influence the system that innervates the muscles and that is your nervous system's job. If we are going too deep and you can't relax, we are wasting your time and money. A good therapist can offer moderate to deep pressure and get excellent results without resorting to torture. Many clients will not speak up about the pain they experience during a massage and will let a therapist go beyond their pain limits. I often tell people, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst pain you've ever felt, you should never be past a 7 during a massage. If you are, we could actually be doing serious tissue damage. It is essential to never go past this threshold so we can make sure to give safe, effective massage.

3. Expect to be bruised and sore.
You should never be bruised after deep tissue. While it is ok to be a bit sore it won't be for more than 24 hours after a session. Most people's tissue continue to respond to bodywork about 24 hours after their treatment and that's perfectly normal. Extended soreness or pain that does not go away after a massage is a sign that a therapist worked too deep too fast. I have learned this the hard way when I had a hamstring injury due to a deep tissue massage that was too fast and too deep. Muscles need time to warm up, whether you are exercising or getting a bodywork session, and if they are not properly prepped and too much pressure is applied, injury can occur.

I hope this email gave you some insight in to this awesome modality. I've learned a lot about it myself as I continue to do research and look for continuing education on many massage topics. We are always evolving in the field and learning new things about the body! I always am so excited about such information and love sharing with you all! Let me know if you have any questions about this or any other style of bodywork!