A practice that has evolved within cultures for centuries, massage therapy continues to offer dozens of medical benefits today. Whether suffering from chronic pain or recovering from a major injury, a deep tissue massage can help improve your condition and provide all sorts of other peripheral advantages. Here’s what you need to know before booking your next appointment.

The History of Deep Tissue Massages

Though credited to the Greeks, Chinese, and Egyptians, the history of massage therapy began in 1949, when Canadian physiotherapist Therese Pfrimmer developed the deep tissue massage style. Initially used to treat leg paralysis, Pfrimmer discovered that adding pressure helped penetrate deeper muscles and tissue.

Deep Tissue Technique

Though similar in pattern as the Swedish massage, deep tissue massage therapists use greater pressure to stimulate lower layers of the muscle, tendons, and fascia. This helps stimulate blood flow, release tension, and protect the body from future injuries while improving its overall healing. 

Not usually painful, it’s still important to let your massage therapist know when the pressure is above your pain threshold. In fact, too much pressure can cause the body to tense up instead of loosening, making it more difficult to achieve the desired results. 

By softening the outer layer of muscles, your therapist can more easily access the deeper ones. To tolerate the pressure, breathe normally and work against the tendency to contract your muscles when pressed. 

The Benefits of a Deep Tissue Massage

Among the greatest advantages of a deep tissue massage are:

1. Pain Reduction

Most patients will request a deep tissue massage for pain relief. By massaging the skin, the activity of inflammatory cytokines is slowed and increases the number of proteins that signal the muscles to produce more mitochondria. This helps the muscles recover from injury and activity. 

2. Optimizing Joint Mobility, Flexibility, and Muscle Capacity

As desk jobs become increasingly sedentary, more employees than ever are experiencing muscle pains and inflexibility. Among the best deep tissue massage benefits are being able to improve one’s range of motion and stimulating the body’s natural lubricants. 

3. Injury Prevention

For those suffering from delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) and muscle fatigue, a deep tissue massage can help with lactate clearance and injury prevention. This is what makes it a popular healing method among athletes. 

4. Improving Posture

If you’ve ever been told to sit up straight, did you know that a deep tissue massage can help alleviate the habit of bad posture? One of the leading causes of back pain, bad posture can be easily corrected by means of positive lifestyle changes and deep tissue massages that help restore your body’s natural alignment and treat sore muscles. 

5. Decreasing Stress

When you feel stress, your body produces excess cortisol, which tends to lead to other health problems. Deep tissue massages have proven to lower the production of this hormone and increase the production of serotonin and oxytocin. This makes patients feel happier and more trusting of others. 

Conclusion

Whether an athlete, desk employee or simply overwhelmed, a deep tissue massage can help alleviate any pain you’re feeling. Focused on treating stiffness and muscle pain, you can treat tissue damage and improve your overall health in just a few sessions. 

To book the best deep tissue massage in Edmonton, contact us at Soul 2 Sole today! We can help treat anything from carpal tunnel to osteoarthritis.