Deep Tissue Massage and Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy

One of the questions I’m asked very often is: Do you do deep tissue massage?

My answer is yes. But that question and answer need clarification.

What most people are really asking is: do you use strong pressure to go beyond just rubbing the skin? – i.e.. using strong enough force to target the deeper muscle fibers or strong enough force to break through the tension they feel.

Actually, targeting deeper muscles and other tissues like ligaments, fascia, nervous system and organs often requires gentle but specific pressure. That is where my training in CranioSacral Therapy, Myofascial Release and Visceral Manipulation comes in very handy. These methods all use mostly gentle but specific manipulations, only applying ounces of pressure to target the deepest tissues in the body. And often, when people feel they have knots that need deep pressure to break through them, it is the softer, gentler work that balances out compensatory problems or maladaptive muscle response that helps eliminate the knots in the other muscles.

So, when asked if I do deep tissue, I say yes … but the deepest tissue work I do uses very light pressure.

When appropriate, I will use deeper, stronger pressure. This kind of work is often called for in cross-fiber massage to break down scar tissue or in trigger point therapy to release localized muscle fiber contractures. Sometimes, deep stripping with the elbow or knuckles is necessary for releasing myofascial restrictions. Myofascial restrictions are often a result of compensation or adaptations to some imbalance or dysfunction that can be located in places away from where the pain or knot may be. Addressing the actual cause of the problem in question often requires the gentler but specific work to the deepest tissues of the body.