I would like to second his statements about Deep Tissue Massage:
"While some massage therapy practitioners use a heavier, sometimes uncomfortable pressure in Deep Tissue Massage it should be noted that a more moderate pressure can reach deep tissues and achieve great results with little discomfort."
While clients continue to request deeper massage, when the depth is sufficient to create guarding or tensing of muscle in a protective reflex, the results are temporary, at best.
My own experience is that this amount of pressure is variable from place to place on each individual person. One aspect of pressure that I have noticed is that sometimes, the skinniest client is the one who is requesting the deepest pressure, while a thicker client may ask for only very light pressure. This is in no way a direct correlation or an absolute. Certain clients in my own practice and that of the massage school where I work have given me pause to think about what shapes these differences. Why can a slight client tolerate heavy-handed pressure which another client of larger build cannot not?
One of the amazing preconceptions that I have encountered as a massage therapist is how effective a light touch can be. This was first brought to my attention during massage school when we were studying a style of lymphatic massage that relies upon feather strokes with infinitesimal pressure in a rapid, repetitious manner. The contact was hardly a fingertip at a time, yet several clients in my student clinic were describing excellent physiological responses to the technique. I have used those same principles in a clinical physical therapy setting with post-operative ACL patients to great benefit.
After starting to study Ortho-Bionomy, I was amazed at how the results which were desired by the client (and in some cases, the physical therapist whom I was working for), without a great deal of exertion or labor. As I have progressed, I have come to appreciate that different clients have different needs and consequently differing pressures.
As a client, it is your responsibility to communicate the pressure desired and if what is being applied is too little or too much. If you don't say anything, the therapist has no knowledge that you would like something other than what they are doing. Similarly, it is the therapist's responsibility to ask during the course of the session if the client would like the pressure modified or the same.
Whether a client or therapist, deep-tissue fan or swedish massage therapist, the amount of pressure applied during the session is always changing and is vital to creating a trusting, relaxing and therapeutic environment.
For more information, you can contact me via email at jonathanwaltonbodyworker (AT) yahoo.com or in Madison, Wisconsin 608-239-6612.
1 comment:
Excellent post Jonathan. Your statement "As a client, it is your responsibility to communicate the pressure desired and if what is being applied is too little or too much" is quite true. However, saying that the therapist is only responsible to ask about the pressure is another story. I believe that it is also the therapist's responsibility to stop/delay the session when a client is asking for pressure that is potentially harmful even if they say "I can take it". And I don't mean that this should be done just to prevent injury, it should also be done because it is harmful to allow the client to believe pressure is the only way to help them when it may be perpetuating their issues. Some clients have become a little miffed at me for this initially but have thanked me when they received better results than they previously had received via pressure alone. Of course taking charge of the session like that must be done with tact and professionalism for best results.
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