The Full Story
Deep Tissue vs. Heavy Pressure
The confusion that pervades our field regarding deep tissue and heavy pressure is real. Please take a moment and learn how we see this so that you can make sure you are getting the type of massage you need.
Deep Tissue
Our bodies are made up of layers of tissue. In order to differentiate where in the body a particular muscle is found, the anatomical nomenclature is superficial vs. deep. So, when a therapist specifies that they can perform deep tissue massage, it means they have been trained in how to palpate the deeper layers of your body. For example, the hip flexors are found deep within the abdomen. So the therapist has been trained how to move deep into your abdomen safely to massage/treat the hip flexors when you have dysfunction with this musculature.
Heavy Pressure
Heavy Pressure massage really is just that. The therapist uses heavy pressure in an area as a technique to release tight muscle tissue. There are a lot of massage therapists in our area that offer this type of massage.
However, we do not. Our therapists have added years of experience and training to help release taut tissue and musculature in a way that meets the tissue where it's at. We do this because we are dealing with areas of the body where it can be dangerous to apply heavy pressure. If there's an area where your therapist is working lighter, likely it's because your tissue is spasmed, and we do not push through spasmed muscle tissue. Our first rule of thumb is do no harm.
