Compared to Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue is much deeper work addressing chronically held tension in deep connective tissue known as fascia.  Before deep tissue is performed, the superficial muscles must be warmed up first.  The use of elbows, finger pressure, forearms, and knuckles are tools used by the massage therapist for deep tissue work.  Very light or no cream, lotion, or oil is used for better traction. 

  

Benefits of Deep Tissue
-Addresses chronic muscular pain
-Injury rehabilitation
-Reduces inflammation-related pain

Myofascial Therapy

Addresses release of connective tissue surrounding and separating muscles.  Longitudinal strokes are applied in the same direction as the muscle fibers.  Cross Fiber strokes are applied across the muscle fibers.  Like deep tissue, myofascial therapy is deep work which requires warming up of the tissue before application.

Benefits of Myofascial Therapy
-Decreases fascial tension beneath scar tissue
-Greater range-of-motion
-Mobilizes soft tissue
-Reduces inflammation
-Reduces muscle & nerve pain

Shiatsu
An Eastern modality, Shiatsu massage involves the use of elbows, feet, forearms, knees, palms, fingers, & thumb, pressure (acupressure) which follows the different meridians (energy patterns) of the body.  The body's different meridians correspond to different bodily organs.  Client can be fully clothed as no cream, lotion, or oil is used.

Benefits of Shiatsu
-Addresses specific bodily organ issues
-Alleviates pain with a wide range of conditions
-Increases vitality & relaxation
-Regulates activity of autonomic nervous system
-Stimulates circulatory, lymphatic, and hormonal systems

Swedish Massage
Invented neither by a Swede nor developed in Sweden, Swedish massage can be called classic massage.  Currently, Swedish massage is the starting point for most massage training.  Dutch practioner, Johan Georg Mezger, adopted the French names for the Swedish massage strokes: effleurage (long gliding strokes), petrissage (kneading), friction circles, and tapotement (striking with the side of the hand).  The use of massage cream, lotion, or oil is used. 

Benefits of Swedish Massage
-General relaxation
-Hastens healing of injuries
-Helps dissolve scar tissue
-Increases circulation
-Reduces swelling

Myofascial Trigger Points ("myo" refers to muscle and "fascia" refers to the thin, translucent membrane that surrounds muscles)

Trigger points are knots in muscles that are painful on compression and refer pain to other parts of the body.  Given the characteristic of referred pain, it is imperative for the work to be focused on the source of the pain and not necessarily at the pain site itself, if trigger points are indeed present.

A body map will be utilized from which the client will identify sites of pain from which the source of pain will be identified.  Short strokes, going across the muscle fibers, will be used over the trigger points in one direction with motions similar to an iron flattening out the trigger point.  Short strokes are less painful in comparison to static pressure for trigger points.

Literature about myofascial trigger points (knots in muscles that refer pain to other parts of the body) has existed for over 150 years.  Latent trigger points can be activated by stress or strain turning the latent trigger points into active trigger points.  Other causes of trigger points are ecessive stretching beyond muscle's normal range, injury to the muscle itself, or repetitive movement.

Due to the lack of knowledge of trigger points by Western medicine, the diagnosis of such diseases as arthritis, compressed or slipped discs, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, etc. may sometimes be a result of the tension maintained by muscles and its pull on the attachments to the bones/vertebrae that cause such diseases.  That may be a reason clients find only temporary relief from chiropractic work if muscle tension from trigger points is what is pulling on the bones that are getting "adjusted."

 Benefits of Trigger Point Therapy
- Greater blood circulation in muscle
- Greater muscle elasticity
- Greater range of motion
- Reduction in vessel and nerve compression
- Vertebrae popping back into place