What is Deep Tissue Massage and Trigger Point Therapy?
WHAT IS IT?
DEEP TISSUE AND TRIGGER POINT MASSAGE IS NOT A FULL BODY MASSAGE. IT IS FOCAL AND VERY INTENTIONAL TO ADDRESS YOUR AREAS OF CONCERN. IT REQUIRES COMMUNICATION THROUGHOUT THE SESSION.
WILL IT HURT?
These two techniques go beyond the superficial muscles that are noted with the naked eye. Deep Tissue massage addresses knots and trigger points, and tension held in deep muscles (think closer to the skeletal and organ systems) and Trigger Point therapy is an effective methodology to release trigger points.
It is often believed to be a painful process, with the notion of, “No pain, no gain!”
THERE SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY NO PAIN
“No Pain, no gain,” should not apply here. It defeats the purpose of releasing tension if you’re bracing yourself through the whole session, and feeling it’s aches for days afterwards. This is why communication is so important during the process, and the massage therapist should be very attentive to your body language and breathing, and verbally checking in.
It is normal, however, to feel discomfort. It is natural to feel tenderness during the session, and the therapist may be working on muscles that you didn’t even know existed! With that in mind, you may feel achey the following day, but if it is prolonged, it is worth discussing it with your therapist to adjust the pressure for the following session.
WHICH ONE DO I NEED?
Knots are a buildup of contracted muscle spindles that feel like a tensed hard ball in the tissue. They tend to stem from repetitive motion (may that be from work, chores, or exercise), imbalances from your posture (due to swaybacks when standing, holding tension when stressed, bad ergonomics at the desk, bone/ligament issues, etc.), and so forth.
Trigger points may seem similar to knots, but there are slight differences. For starters, where there is a knot, a trigger point may be present, but a trigger point cannot be present if there is no knot. Some great indicators of an active trigger point are muscle twitch responses, radiating pain, and referred pain (verses knots, which are localized). When I state “pain,” allow me to define it as discomfort, numbness, or tingling. When pressure is applied and you can feel it an inch or two outwardly (like the rings of a bullseye target), that is considered radiating. Referred is when pressure is applied in one particular area, but you can sense it in a total different part of your body (such as pressure being applied to your forearm, and feeling it in your wrist and fingers).
To dive in deeper in scientific terms, muscle overload creates an abnormal release of acetylcholine from dysfunctional motor endplates. This causes an influx of calcium in sarcomeres around the area of the endplates, resulting in localized contraction of the affected sarcomeres. The increased tension creates contracted knots, resulting in trigger points, which then results in a increase in metabolic demand in the area, producing local ischemia and local hypoxia (deprives adequate oxygen supply to tissue). This then causes an energy crisis, resulting in pain. The pumps (or circulation) responsible for removing calcium to stop the contraction can’t function (due to ischemia and hypoxia) and the cycle perpetuates. In short, these points lack the necessary blood supply and oxygen, thus accumulating toxins within the muscle.
Often times trigger points have led to misdiagnosis, resulting in unnecessary treatments (cortisone shots) and surgery. This approach may address the symptoms temporarily, but it does not address the root cause, which can be treated directly through massage therapy, particularly with Deep Tissue and Trigger Point therapy.
WHAT IS THE APPROACH?
Swedish techniques are initiated for the muscle to be receptive to touch, while the therapist can simultaneously palpate the muscle for any signs of knots. When a knot is found, Deep Tissue Massage is applied. Using either the elbow or finger tips, deeper pressure is applied directly to the knot. The pressure should not exceed above the pain level of 5 (a great indicator of this is 6 being where you begin to brace yourself and tense your muscle, a 5 should be right bellow, where you feel discomfort, but able to remain relaxed). The pressure will be adjusted to your comfort, then left there for a maximum of 2 minutes. During this time, the discomfort and pressure will reduce. When it reduces to a 1 or 2, the therapist can move on to the next knot that needs to be addressed.
If twitching occurs during Deep Tissue Massage, or the client states feeling sensations (referred pain) else where, then Trigger Point Therapy will be used. This technique applies slightly deeper pressure in three parts. As the discomfort reduces, more pressure is applied. Once it has deepened three times, the therapist then applies friction and stretching to the affected muscle.
Referred Pain from Trigger Points:
Trigger Points found in the upper traps (the x’s) will predominantly be felt in the red zones displayed in this image.
BENEFITS:
Decrease Ischemic (restricted blood flow) conditions
Workout fibrous contracted muscle tissues
Reduces chronic pain
Reduce stress
Restore blood circulation
Activates the parasympathetic system (rest & digest verses fight or flight).
