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Deep tissue massage is a therapeutic massage designed to relieve severe tension in the deeper tissue structures of the muscles and the connective tissue or fascia. This therapy is usually recommended for people who experience consistent pain and stiff muscles due to heavy physical activity, such as athletes, and patients who have sustained physical injury. Unlike other methods that just help people to relax, the deep tissue massage techniques are more intense, and apply slower, deeper pressure on the problem areas. The methods comprise many of the Swedish massage therapy movements, but in this, the pressure applied is more intense that works to release chronic muscle tension or knots, known as adhesions. These processes compress the muscles and use friction to increase blood flow. Hence, they are very effective for pain relief, especially for sports related injuries.

List of Methods

Method 1: One of the most common type resembles the standard therapy, which involves a slow hand movement and a little deeper pressure applied on those areas that are full of tension and tend to hurt.

Method 2: This involves the therapist using his or her elbow tips and fingers in place of whole palm. This method resolves the most complex knots in the body muscles, which develop due to prolonged sitting in a seat or abnormal sleeping postures.

Method 3: This employs the usage of a set of penetrating tools, made of ceramic, glass, or wood. The tools are used to improve the overall massaging experience and tend to give a relaxing effect, which is not possible with bare hands. To have an ultimate effect, it is important to proceed slowly and gently.

Although many things are common in all the above procedures, use of a set of long and flowing strokes to ease in the muscles is most common of all. Besides this, maintaining a firm pressure at the trouble spots for a period of minutes until the blockage releases is another common factor.

Benefits

This therapy releases the chronic muscle tension through slower strokes and more direct pressure or friction on the contracted or stiff muscle areas.
Basically, when the muscles are stressed, they block oxygen and nutrients from reaching the tissue structures of the muscles, hence causing inflammation of the muscles and toxins build up. This therapy loosens the tissues, releases toxins from the muscles, and enables proper blood and oxygen circulation in the body.
Thus, it can cure variety of different medical problems including muscle spasm, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, sports related injuries, and mobility problems.
ProcedureMake the person lie on his/her belly on a firm, comfortable surface, like a floor mat or firm bed. Ensure you can reach the person's entire back without straining your own.
Stand or kneel by his/her side and keep one hand on the lower back and one hand between the shoulder blades, right over the heart.
Apply thumb pressure along both sides of the spine at the same time to warm up the back. Begin at the lower back and knead slowly with your thumbs up to the neck region.
Employ a smooth, delicate stroke also called effleurage, to apply the oil. In one long stroke, glide your palms down on both sides of the spine to the pelvis and scoop out across the hips and then back up the sides to the shoulders. Keep your contact with the back, and slide your hands over the back to begin a new area.
Continue massaging up both sides of the neck to the base of the head and from the spine, slide your palms in opposite directions outward to the sides of the back, initiating with the lower back area and then moving up to the shoulders.
Now, work on the fleshy muscular areas at the top of the shoulders, the mid-back area, and the buttocks to loosen and relax the tight muscles and fascia.
Use your thumbs or fingers to exert pressure to areas that feel hard or tight, often called knots and perform clockwise circular friction or rubbing with your fingertips along the muscles that are near the spine and around the shoulder blades.
At last, rotate the arms slowly taking one at a time, to loosen the shoulder joints and improve the blood flow.
To summarize, we can say that the main aim of this therapy is to unfold the stiff fibers of a muscle, release patterns of tension, remove toxins, and relax the muscle. Since many toxins are released, it's essential to drink enough water after the session to help eradicate the toxins and wastes from the body.

Disclaimer: This Buzzle article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.