Ever heard either of these two phrases before in massage therapy? DEEP TISSUE or MYOFASCIAL COMPRESSION? Let me explain the difference, but also how they both play an important part in releasing tightness and over exerted muscles.
Today I'll talk about DEEP TISSUE. Tomorrow afternoon I'll post about MYOFASCIAL COMPRESSION. So stay tuned!
Deep Tissue. It's term most know and assume it means it fixes all problems. But let me first explain what it is, and how it's applied.
When I explain deep tissue I want you to envision the Earth. And it's cut in half vertically. You'd see the soil, (or crust) the mantle, (middle) and the core (center). Muscles too have layers. And when deep tissue is applied, it's pushing down into layers of muscles that flow across the body --⬇️-- (outside pushing in) oooooooph that just sounds painful when you think about it doesn't it? Well, it does LOL. But here's the real kicker.. when and where should deep tissue be applied?
Deep tissue massages first and foremost are NOT meant to be applied just anywhere on the body and not meant for all age groups. Any one over 60yrs of age should never receive deep tissue on the LEGS due to increased risk of stroke. (If you're a smoker then it's anyone 50yrs old and over) If you had a blood clot located in your leg(s) it can be released into youre blood stream during deep tissue and travel up to the brain.
Second, it's also not meant to be a repeated/ repetitive force over a section of muscles.
The most common people to benefit from deep tissue massages are Athletes and those doing very exerted physical activity with their bodies. Such as runners, gymnasts, weight lifters/ body builders, active sports athletes, or anyone with an extremely repetitive job activity. I think you get the picture! Also, not every area of the body may need that targeted deep tissue. Runners for instance need it more in their glutes and thighs. A volleyball player would need it more in her shoulder blades, neck and back.
If you're hurting all over equally, then you're experiencing either inflammation, dehydration, or lymphatic buildup. In which case DEEP TISSUE SHOULD BE AVOIDED.
I had also mentioned it shouldn't be repetitive over a set of muscles. That just means if your shoulder is giving you grief from your everyday job of using a power gun, me applying extreme deep work over that particular set of muscles for 45 min is probably the worst thing you can do to those muscles. Target areas shouldn't be manipulated in the same manor in one area for longer than 5-8 minutes. And what I mean by that is, you can actually over work, tear, inflame, or damage the muscle and over stimulate/ damage nerve bundles located within the muscles.
You have 2 sets of nerve functions. Your sympathetic nervous system which is your making -your- body -work- and- function nerves. (Feeling a blanket, feeling the type writer as you type, petting your cat.) Your parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for quick responses to make your body react. Fight or flight. (Touching a hot skillet, running from danger. ) If damage is done so excessively to a muscle, your parasympathetic nervous system sends pain responses to the brain, causing your body to react in defense. When a muscle is damaged, a protein called myoglobin is released into the bloodstream. It is then filtered out of the body by the kidneys. Myoglobin breaks down into substances that can damage kidney cells. So, in knowing this, pain is not gain. And receiving an all over, too long applied, painful deep tissue massage, actually does more harm than good!
How I do my deep tissue are by administering things like infrared light therapy, myofascial release, essenital oils, and accucupping. By first using infrared heat im loosening up the muscle with heat, increasing circulation and swelling lymphatic channels to move along metabolic waste out of your muscle. Myofascial compression stretches ⬅️➡️the surface muscles and fascia, essential oils to lessen spasms, relieve pain and calm the nervous system while manipulating musculoskeletal muscles, and accucupping to pull the muscle up to pool fresh oxygenated blood to oxygen starved muscles in order help them release and heal.
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