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Deep Tissue Massage
What’s the right amount of pressure to apply to your muscles in massage therapy and self-massage?
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Permalink Reply by Therese Schwartz on
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That's a difficult question to answer (reflected in the fact that no one has tried!). I started to the other day but didn't like what I typed up. I'll give it another shot, and see if I can get it this time.
You used the word "pressure" and that's important; it's also important to understand that there is a difference between "pressure" and "force". It's possible to use a lot of pressure and have it be appropriate, but even a gram of force is too much.
For me, the "right" amount of pressure is the lightest amount that it takes to engage the tissue and have it respond positively. That can be one gram of pressure, or a lot of pressure. Done well, it will never feel like too much to the client (or your own tissues).
That's the simplest, clearest answer I can come up with.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on
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My opinion, it should never go deeper then HURT GOOD. By that I mean, at a certain pressure there is a dual feeling of very sore(hurt), and a really good feeling at the same time. If your client vocalized during a perfect deep tissue massage they might say something like this. OH THATS SO SORE, BUT IT FEELS GOOD. DON'T STOP! The hurt part is your body telling you something is wrong(duh!), but the part that feels good, is your body telling you what you are doing is healing. Other wise it would not feel good. So thats why you never want to go deeper then hurt good. If it hurt hurts. You are causing tissue damage. Thats why its important to comunicate with your client about pressure before the massage. So they can help you get that perfect pressure. Massages have to feel good, or hurt good. Never hurt hurt.
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Permalink Reply by Gary W Addis, LMT on
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Deep Tissue and MFR both attempt to release fascial adhesions. But take out any associated trigger points, often the adhesions will dissolve naturally. Adhesions form to prevent movement in what the body perceives to be injured muscle tissue; and at the microscopic sarcomere level, a trigger point is in fact an injury...an inability of the trigger pointed muscle strand to relax as ordered to by the CNS.
So, we're all in agreement that neither DT nor MFR should ever cause damage. But we all probably know at least one massage therapist who brags that she always causes bruising. Bruising...a contusion, bleeding within the tissue due to crushed capillaries perhaps a couple of muscle layers deep, invisible on the surface of the skin. The next day the bruised client will be so sore they want to stay in bed all day. But we all have had clients who insist on bone-scraping pressure. I think these folks get an endorphin flood from the exquisite pain, and enjoy it. I'm not a masochist, but, heck, I too kinda like getting an occasional "brain freeze" from an ice cold Fruit Smoothie.
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Permalink Reply by Maryshka on
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My philosophy is similar to yours Therese, but still I hear it's not 'deep' enough. Some people don't know what THEY need. I find that my work tells ME what they need. Explaining that to the client can use up valuable massage time sometimes but they need to learn. When I get kickback with necessary pressure and client wants it deepeeeeerrr but their muscles are flinching/rebounding... whatdaya do/say?
Therese Schwartz said:That's a difficult question to answer (reflected in the fact that no one has tried!). I started to the other day but didn't like what I typed up. I'll give it another shot, and see if I can get it this time.
You used the word "pressure" and that's important; it's also important to understand that there is a difference between "pressure" and "force". It's possible to use a lot of pressure and have it be appropriate, but even a gram of force is too much.
For me, the "right" amount of pressure is the lightest amount that it takes to engage the tissue and have it respond positively. That can be one gram of pressure, or a lot of pressure. Done well, it will never feel like too much to the client (or your own tissues).
That's the simplest, clearest answer I can come up with.
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Some people really do think "no pain, no gain". They need a different therapist besides me! I'm not strong enough to hold up to that kind of work, even if I believed in it.
I explain to people about guarding and why it happens, and micro-tearing the muscles. The burn they feel is not lactic acid being worked out, it's the muscles being damaged by the therapist. It becomes obvious that it's undesirable! Even so, some people still want deeper work and they prefer another therapist (although not very often! :-) ).
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Permalink Reply by Ana Moana on
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Perhaps it's best to try different amounts of pressure with different clients and get feedback from each of them. I don't think al 'all-round' pressure is always the best solution.
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Permalink Reply by Neal Lyons on
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the right pressure is what you/your client is comfortable with. communicate communicate communicate
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I suppose this will sound generic, but pressure is subjective..."perfect" pressure, IMO, is at the point of tension or just beyond...let me explain. Gently sink into the soft tissue, the spot where you feel the tension is where you should be working...for a deeper massage, beyond, or deeper than that point...anything less in traditional massage is just fluff.
That said if you are dealing with fascial adhesions, you may want to go deeper to break them up.
Personally nothing makes me want to cry more than getting a light massage, in fact too light leaves me edgy and agitated...just at the point of pressure, IMO is the minumum for results, and deeper (in my case dig into my body with your elbows please) I like as deep as I can tolerate...but it's really up to the body on your table.
Will a client be sore? Yes, but the fascia is free and when swelling goes down, pain is diminished greatly and range of motion will be increased...remember, fascia had more nerve endings than muscle. Do you cause damage to lymphatic vessels? Yes, but it depends on your goal for the session, if you want to break up adhesions, it may cause swelling...or in some mild bruising (think Gua Sha).
I've been giving and getting massage for over 17 years, and NOTHING, but NOTHING helps me like a good, deep, 'once over'...I think also focused work is worse...if you spend the majority of the time on the back, going over, and over the same tissues...it's more damaging than a good, overall, but not repetitive moves on the same muscle group...you don't need to spend a boat load of time on one muscle group...by releasing the whole body, you release...the WHOLE body...focused work doesn't cut it.
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The touch is the massage. I have clients that request deep tissue and some that don't. I just give them a good massage, regardless.
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Sorry, I disagree, the touch alone is not the massage...if touch was all it took, why go to school and learn anatomy? Knowing the muscles, fascial patterns, and anatomy, and how to specifically work on them, in a targeted way...WITH GRACE and flow...is the key.
I once had a lady client (I am also a woman) tell me jokingly how much she appreciated my deep massage...she said a light massage is like sex with no orgasm...yep, it feels nice, but leaves me irritated because NOTHING was released...hopefully you can see the humor in that...it wasn't made in a sexual or perverse way, but it's true...maybe a man wouldn't understand that! LOL.
Touch alone...not cutting it.
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Eileen, Gordon is a highly skilled massage therapist, arguably the premier trigger point specialist in the nation; his "touch" is to massage what a spice cabinet is to a top chef. And as any great chef will tell you, it isn't the well stocked kitchen that creates a great meal, but the knowledge and sensitive palate of the cook. It's the sensitive touch of a highly skilled therapist like Gordon that makes a great massage.
The perfect pressure cannot be determined, for it's a subjective judgment. The touch that feels great to a client today may irritate the hell out of her tomorrow. The majority of therapists use the same pressure, the same speed of stroke, the same techniques on every client they treat. Exceptional massage therapists tailor each session to the needs of each individual client, varying the pressure applied to a muscle not on words written in a textbook but on the private conversation between therapist's sensitive fingertips and the muscle tissue receiving the touch.
A great chef doesn't strictly follow even his own recipes: his senses tell him how much of this or that to add to the meal cooking on his stove on this particular day.
A great massage therapist's "touch" is his greatest asset
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I guess massage is a big word, and it is more then just the touch. But still, sometimes its just the touch.
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