When you think about coming to a spa for a massage, you probably think about relaxing until you nearly fall asleep (or sometimes actually fall asleep) while soft music plays in the background. While all of that is true, there are also different types of massage that can provide different benefits.
The two most popular are Swedish and Deep Tissue. Each of these unique techniques has a specific purpose and will feel completely different to the person on the receiving end. So, what’s the difference?
A Swedish massage is what most people think of when they think about getting a massage (other than, perhaps, a Relaxation massage). This technique is primarily designed to relieve tension and energize you.
It does this by using several specific types of massage movements including (but not limited to) long, slow gliding movements, kneading, or sometimes deeper, more static pressure in particular areas of tightness or spasm.
A Deep Tissue massage is a type of technique designed to break up adhesions in the muscle and surrounding connective tissue, called the fascia.
The Registered Massage Therapist works layer by layer through connective tissue and muscles down to the deepest accessible layers to change posture and create freedom of movement by releasing fascial adhesions and chronic muscle contracture. Typically this technique is used to address chronic aches and pains or stiff and contracted areas of the body.
Deep tissue massages usually involve two specific types of strokes which allow for a deeper pressure using the elbow, forearm or hands to glides along the length of a muscle or muscle group as well as using pressure to release adhesions in spastic muscles.
