Read along as David Abookire, our owner and Sports/Injury Specialist, helps support Kristin Weiland in her Forbes Health article, “Deep Tissue Massage: Four Health Benefits and Risks.”
Read the full article here.
Abookire is periodically called upon as an industry expert to consult on articles and publications regarding massage therapy, injury rehabilitation, sports therapy and specific body ailments.
“Muscles can become imbalanced because of injury or repetitive daily movements, such as sitting at a desk for extended periods, poor posture or playing a sport that utilizes one part of your body more than others. “You can get tight muscles on your shoulder, for instance, and that starts to pull on your neck [muscles],” explains David Abookire, a licensed massage therapist, sports injury specialist and owner of Boulder Therapeutics in Boulder, Colorado. “Receiving deeper work can help to unwind those patterns so that your biomechanics and movement patterns are reset.”
The goal of deep tissue massage, as Abookire explains, is to rebalance the muscles. While providing pain relief is a key objective, this form of massage also aims to identify and address the underlying causes of discomfort. It utilizes precise techniques that apply sustained pressure to targeted areas. Therapists may use their elbows, fists and varied amounts of their body weight to achieve a deeper pressure than that typically found in other massage types. However, the therapist will apply lighter pressure initially, and gradually increase as a way to warm up the body to access the deeper layers of tissue.
Deep tissue massage may be incorporated into a several other modalities, including:
• Neuromuscular therapy, a technique that involves applying strokes with the finger or thumb, designed to alleviate pain or dysfunction
• Myofascial release, a type of manual therapy targeting the body’s connective tissue and is used to decrease pain and improve function, and uses sustained pressure techniques
• Trigger point therapy, which uses various manual techniques to apply pressure to tight and tender areas called “trigger points”
However, not every massage therapist who offers deep tissue massage will use all of those techniques, according to Abookire.
Both Jansen and Abookire emphasize that the objective of deep tissue massage is not simply to apply intense pressure. “We’re not just pushing hard to make it hurt; we’re pushing harder to access deeper muscles after we warm up the superficial ones,” explains Abookire. Multiple sessions may be required before those deeper layers can be safely reached. “We moderate [the pressure level] depending on the client,” he notes. “If your nervous system is telling us not to work deeply, we won’t.”
Abookire emphasizes that deep tissue massage can help bring awareness to unrecognized or ignored tightness or discomfort in the body. This awareness increases a patient’s understanding of where in their body they hold tension. This is not only necessary for taking the mental and physical steps toward healing, but also for improving mind-body communication regarding the body’s current level of well-being. “You can consciously make efforts to either see physical therapists, go to the gym, practice yoga or receive further treatment,” he adds.
Jansen and Abookire recommend that people who are interested in deep tissue massage for therapeutic purposes to select a sports medicine clinic rather than a spa. Sports medicine practitioners typically specialize in anatomy and focus on creating lasting physical change rather than providing temporary relief.
When working with an injury or a chronic condition, multiple deep tissue massage sessions may be necessary, so costs should be discussed upfront. In the beginning, Abookire says he recommends weekly treatments, then slowly tapers sessions down according to the client’s recovery progress. Once the original concerns are addressed, he tells his clients the frequency is up to them. “You can come in every five weeks, you can wait a couple of months,” he says. “Just don’t wait until it’s so bad that we’re back to repairing the original issue.”
About the Author: David is the founder of Boulder Therapeutics, Inc, and has been treating athletes and injured clients since 1999. He is passionate about educating people on massage therapy, injury rehab, Acupuncture, injury prevention, sports performance and stretching. He has learned over the years that getting enough care early-on dramatically helps reduce symptoms, and makes them much more manageable. He and his team advise clients on the frequency of their care and when they may need to collaborate with other healthcare professionals.