What’s the Difference Between a Swedish Massage and a Deep Tissue Massage?

  Two popular massage techniques, Swedish massage and deep tissue massage have different purposes and results. It’s worth knowing the difference so you can get the most relief for your particular issues. Here is a little background information on these two massage techniques.

 

Swedish Massage is Perfect for Relaxation

 



 

 

Developed in the early 1800s by Per Henrik Ling and others, Swedish massage may be the most commonly used massage technique. Swedish massage promotes relaxation with light to vigorous strokes, including: 

 

1.Effleurage (sliding)

 

2.Petrissage (kneading)

 

3.Tapotement (rhythmic tapping)

 

4.Friction

 

5.Vibration or shaking

Swedish massage increases blood circulation and moves metabolic waste out of the body .It boosts the nervous system, which helps relieve pain and reduce tension. Clinical studies show that Swedish massage reduces lower back pain, arthritis, and joint stiffness. It lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

For relaxation and stress relief, Swedish massage is the technique to choose.

 

More Than Just Athletes Choose Deep Tissue Massage

 

As the name implies, Deep Tissue Massage uses deep pressure to reach areas of tension and pain within the muscles. With an injury or chronic tension, adhesions develop in muscles, tendons and ligaments. Adhesions block circulation, limit movement, and cause pain and inflammation.

Deep tissue massage uses direct deep pressure to break down adhesions in the back, neck, arms, and legs. The massage therapist uses massage oil and intense pressure to reach and unknot inner layers of muscle. It isn’t painful, since an experienced massage therapist is attentive to a client’s tolerance.

Deep tissue massage is often used to relieve chronic pain, such as back pain, tension headaches, or carpal tunnel syndrome. Athletes who maintain an intense training program use deep tissue massage to ease the effects of demanding workouts. It can be helpful to reduce fluid retention, too.

Areas of stiffness also benefit from deep tissue massage, and it’s used to relieve stiff neck and upper back, sore shoulders, and tight leg muscles. Deep tissue massage is most often used in cases of injury or chronic tension.

 

Both Forms of Massage Have Many Benefits

Whether you choose Swedish massage or deep tissue massage, your massage will help flush toxins out of your body. To assist that process, drink fluids, especially water.

Both deep tissue massage and Swedish massage can leave you with sore muscles temporarily. But this will pass quickly and leave you feeling better.

For a massage that’s customized to your individual needs, call Wave Crest Massage at (631) 375-0962  or sign up online. We look forward to helping you find the perfect massage for your needs.

Tip:

Before you book your appointment, make sure your massage therapist is certified or licensed in your state and associated with the Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals (ABMP) or the American Massage Therapists Association (AMTA). 

Remember, only receive massage therapy when you are well. 

If you don't feel well, reschedule your massage and consult a doctor. 

 

Roy is a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist and has worked in high end spa’s as well as rehabilitation centers. He is well known for his Relaxing Massage as well as his skill in Medical Massage and Sports Massage.Contact Roy at 631-375-0962 or email at roy@wavecrestmassage.com to schedule your next appointment.  https://www.wavecrestmassage.com

 

 

 

 

Your Immune System May Knead Massage Therapy

Finally - a reason to treat yourself to a massage, guilt-free. As massage therapy goes main-stream, medical researchers are uncovering more and more health benefits to lying down on the table. Because of these compelling benefits, it is time to consider massage therapy not as a luxury indulgence but as a form of medical treatment.

The benefits of massage are immediately obvious to anyone who's had one. A massage session calms you down, eases your anxieties, and even helps you sleep at night. Now a study, funded by the government's National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, finds that those sessions may help you ward off diseases, too.

 For a study published in the Journal of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, the authors recruited 53 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 45 and divided them into two groups: one that received a traditional Swedish massage, and another that received a session of light touch meant to simulate a massage but without any actual massage-therapy techniques. The Swedish massages were all performed by certified massage therapists to ensure uniformity. Each participant had an IV inserted into one arm for the duration of the massage and for a few hours afterward. Blood was drawn at various intervals to measure levels of various hormones and immune-system markers.

The authors were working under the theory that massage increases the body's levels of oxytocin, or "the love hormone," which helps regulate levels of hormones related to stress. They found that that wasn't the case. People receiving the "light touch" treatment actually experienced higher levels of oxytocin than the massage recipients. But unlike the light-touch group, the massage recipients saw significant decreases in stress hormones and increases in the body's production of various cells that boost immune-system response.

A single massage could help boost your immune system and help you better cope with stress, even if you're not sick or stressed out. "I'm really intrigued by our findings," says Mark Hyman Rapaport, M.D., professor and chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who adds that he was an "incredible skeptic" about the benefits of massage therapy before doing this study. "I always wondered, what does it do that so many people claim to feel better afterwards?" he says. "We're finding that biological changes do occur as a result of even a single session of massage, and that these changes may benefit even a healthy individual."

While it may be enough for most people to know that getting a massage makes them feel better, regardless of what the biological effects are, Dr. Rapaport says that his findings could help advance the use of massage therapy in traditional medicine, which would be good news for people looking for more options to treat their medical complaints. "Based on data that have come out of a number of the surveys, a majority of Americans would rather go to an alternative practitioner than a physician and would prefer to have an alternative to traditional care," he says. The few studies on massage therapy that have been done have focused on specific complaints, such as back pain or anxiety, he says, but his research suggests that the therapy could be beneficial to people suffering from a wider range of immune-system disorders.

Remember, only receive massage therapy when you are well. 

If you don't feel well, reschedule your massage and consult a doctor.

Roy is a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist and has worked in high end spa’s as well as rehabilitation centers. He is well known for his Relaxing Massage as well as his skill in Medical Massage and Sports Massage.

Contact Roy at 631-375-0962 or email at roy@wavecrestmassage.com to schedule your next appointment.  https://www.facebook.com/wavecrestmassage

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