Going Deep Doesn’t Mean Bringing on the Pain Deep tissue can get a bad reputation of being a painful type of massage where the therapist digs into your muscles with sharp, pointy elbows while applying an uncomfortable amount of pressure. While this type of massage can be deeper and more intense than other modalities, Smith assures that a good deep tissue massage shouldn’t be painful or leave you feeling really sore. “People shouldn’t be afraid of deep tissue massage,” says Smith. “You don’t need to get beat up and feel really sore to see results with deep tissue. It’s going to be effective whether you’re sore or not.” To start getting to the deep level of massage, Smith builds into it slowly by starting his massage strokes with his hands, fingers, thumbs and knuckles before using his forearms and elbows. He believes in the importance of warming up the muscles first and then moving into a deeper level of work that is dependent on each client’s preferred pressure level. “My philosophy is that it’s not how deep you go that’s important,” reflects Smith. “It’s how you go that’s deep. Jabbing your elbow into someone isn’t always the best approach with deep tissue.”
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 07:27:39 +0000