How to Give a Deep Tissue Massage

Transcript I do believe there’s an art to picking a good deep tissue massage therapist. There are a lot of people out there that say that they’re great deep tissue massage therapists. Then, there are a lot of disappointed clients. So there’s a couple of things that you want to look into. One, obviously, expertise …

Transcript Occasionally, I get questions about how deep tissue massage, affects weight loss. Deep tissue massage is not directly related to weight loss, but it is a part of a healthy lifestyle. Especially if you’ve found yourself in a new exercise program and you have those aches and pains that come along with that, giving …

Transcript Hi, my name is Meagan Holub and I’m a certified massage therapist in Los Angeles. I have a company called Massage LA. I’ve been a practicing massage therapist for 17 years. I used to spend my summers in high school at Camp Easter Seal, volunteering my time to care for the differently-abled children, and …

Transcript Deep tissue massage, most people don’t know this, but actually deep tissue massage can decrease scar tissue, and in fact it can decrease the chance of scar tissue forming before it does. There’s specific types of deep tissue massage that you want to do and one is a deep cross-fiber friction massage.So you’re going …

Transcript I do have patients with fibromyalgia once in awhile ask if they can receive deep tissue massage. That answer to that, I think, is that it’s going to vary from patient to patient. For those that can receive deep tissue massage, they’re going to need to find a deep tissue massage therapist that is …

Transcript So I do get a lot of requests from prenatal clients, women who are pregnant and they’re concerned that they might not be able to receive deep tissue massage when they really want one. It’s obviously a time where they are having aches and pains in their low back and different areas. The body’s …

Transcript People often ask me, if deep tissue massage can decrease or entirely get rid of cellulite. We all wish that we had less cellulite. There is some debate about this. What I can tell you is that deep tissue massage, there is no massage that can completely get rid of cellulite. There is no …

Transcript Now I’m going to show you the cross-fiber friction technique. I have actually located a little knot here in Gina’s rhomboids, so we’re going to work on that for her. Because the grain of the muscle goes this way, we’re actually going to be cross-fibering the opposite way. I’m going to go right in …

Transcript Now I’m going to show you a couple of techniques for how to relieve headaches in people. Headaches can occur in a couple of different places, so we’re going to show you all of those. One of the first places that they can happen is right here at the base of the skull. I’m …

Transcript Now I’m going to be showing you some compression techniques, and we’re going to do this through the sheet. You’re going to want to make sure that you avoid the spine and any bony processes. If your hand naturally falls into the tissue, that’s where you want it to be. We’re going to start …

Transcript So I’m going to be showing you a couple of techniques that you can use for a deep tissue massage with your fingers. And one of the things that you want to be aware of is that you don’t have to use your fingers where it tires you out at all. So see how …

Transcript I’m going to show you a very basic, lengthening stroke and what we go ahead and do, is place the hand, you can actually put one hand over the other and just lengthen that muscle. When you’re in this area, it’s actually nice just to do a little compression down at the bottom, too. …

Transcript So now I’m going to show you how to use your fists during a deep tissue massage and what to expect from that. So we’re going to go ahead and start up here at the top of the back. My hands are together and it sort of creates a barrier where I won’t go …

Transcript So when you use your forearm during deep tissue massage, you’re going to be applying a broader pressure than if you were just using your elbow. So it’s a great way to start warming the tissue up for the massage, for the deeper layers that you’re going to go to. We’re going to go …

Transcript So now we’re going to be doing a couple of deeper strokes on the face. You can see I’m using just the tiniest bit of lotion. You want to avoid oil on the face so there’s no breakout. So you want to use a water-based lotion. Just follow along the line of the jaw. …

Transcript So I’m going to be showing you how to do some scalp massage techniques on the deeper side. I like to do one nice stroke up the neck before I get to the base of that skull. I’m going to let her scalp rest in my hands here for a minute. My fingers are …

Transcript So some techniques you can use for deep tissue massage with your elbow are the following. So we’re going to start with applying deep pressure all the way down on these erector spinae again or what they often refer to as erectors. You’ll notice Gene is breathing through it. That’s good, make sure you’re …

Transcript So now I’m going to show you some techniques that you can use with your knuckles for deep tissue massage. And of course before I begin, I’m always going to just address the tissue and make sure that the body is used to me touching it. And then I use one hand over the …

Transcript So now I’m gonna be showing you how to get some deep tissue strokes to the chest, the decollete area. So I’m first going to use my knuckles, and some circular motions. And you can see I don’t use the knuckles as one solid movement. I actually separate them and use them in sort …

Transcript Now we’re going to be doing some deep tissue strokes on the thigh, and with focus on the entire thigh. Then I’m going to show you just one move on the IT band, which is a common area for holding stress. We’re going to be using our fist or our knuckles at first. This …

Transcript So I’m going to be doing deep tissue massage for the leg now. As you can see, I have applied a lot of lotion to my hands. If you ever have any extra, you can just tap it onto the sheets there because it’s water-based. I’m going to do one nice stroke over the …

Transcript So now am gonna show you a couple of techniques to the arms and hands. First we’re gonna work with the arm so I always like to start right here up to the tip easiest and just create some a nice long line to give a pull there and then I’ll do some nice …

Transcript So, I’m gonna be doing some deep tissue massage tricks on the feet. One of the first things is I’ve applied a lot of lotion. The feet can be a little more dry. And when you go to grab on to the foot, you know lot of people can be ticklish, so make sure …

Transcript So for the back of the legs, I’ve applied a lot of lotion. We have a broader area to cover on both men and women, so make sure you have a lot of lotion. Go ahead and give nice coverage first with Swedish massage. You want to get that tissue warmed up, and then …

Transcript So we’re going to be working on the hamstrings, giving a little deep tissue. I’m using a little bit more lotion this time, because it is a broader area. And even if you have too much, you can just start down here at the base. So I’m going to be using my knuckles or …

Transcript So there’s a couple of different ways that you can access the calves. And I showed you previously that you can access from this way. But you can also go ahead and place your hand underneath the ankle, lift the calf up. Some people actually sit on the table. And you can go ahead …

Transcript So now I’m going to be working on the trapezius, which is the muscle right here at the top of the shoulder. So it is a small muscle, but it carries a lot of stress. So I’m going to put my hand under here in what looks sort of like a lobster claw. It …

Transcript So when beginning a lower back deep tissue massage, I always typically start at the very top of the erectors and move down slowly with my thumbs there on each side of the spine, careful not to touch the spine. This sort of gets the back prepared for you entering that low back area. …

Transcript We’ve already prepped the tissue with some nice Swedish massage. Now we’re going to go ahead and do the deep tissues massage for the back. I’m going to use my elbow and my forearm for this. Nice and slowly, you’re going to access the tissue. Right now, I’m using my forearm close to the …

Transcript So now I’m going to be showing you how to work with the glutes, the buttocks, and the hips with a deep tissue massage. So go ahead and place your hand right underneath the ankle for support, and you’re going to be going up and accessing those glutes. Your hand’s basically going to fall …

Transcript So before you begin massaging the shoulders with deep tissue you’re always going to want to make sure that the tissue is properly prepared. So I’ve already given Gina a nice Swedish massage to get her tissue nice and relaxed. But now we’re going to go and move right in to some of the …

Transcript There may be some possible, residual side effects, after you get a deep tissue massage. You’re accessing the tissue pretty deeply, and you’re going into muscles that sometimes haven’t been touched in a long time, if ever. You may feel the next day, as if you’ve worked yourself out. You might feel a little …

Transcript So there are a couple of things that you should do after a deep tissue massage. One, you should get off the table and get dressed. And as you get off the table be careful to watch your posture when you get up. A lot of people are overzealous and can be a little …

Transcript Now we’re going to be working on one of my favorite places to work, on the neck. I think it’s often neglected, and it shouldn’t be. So we’re going to start with one long stroke up to the base of the scalp just to get the tissue used to you. And then I’m going …

Transcript So the health benefits of deep tissue massage are many. From the very beginning just getting your muscle tissue to have less knots and adhesions, getting the joints to have more motion. Actually by reducing some of that scar tissue in the muscles around the joints, you can actually get a lot more range …

Transcript The difference between Swedish massage and deep tissue massage, is Swedish massage is actually the base for deep tissue massage and deep tissue massage is delivered on a much deeper level. Swedish massage has some basic strokes, like effleurage and petrissage. With deep-tissue massage, you actually take those same modalities, and take them to …

Transcript As a client preparing for deep tissue massage you’re going to prepare for it, much like any other massage. You basically get to just sit back and relax, and let the massage therapist work their magic. But there are a couple of things that a massage therapist is going to do to make sure …

Transcript So, to answer the question, “Does deep tissue massage hurt?” my immediate answer is, “It depends on who you’re getting the deep tissue massage from.” I wish that I could say, “No, it doesn’t always hurt, ” but that’s not always true. So, I, I personally try to keep deep tissue massage from hurting, …

Transcript Deep tissue massage is massage delivered into the muscles on a deeper layer. So typically, you want to prime the muscles before you get into that level of depth with Swedish massage strokes. Swedish massage is actually the basis for deep tissue massage, but deep tissue massage you’re accessing down under the surface layer. …