Are deep tissue massages beneficial?

You’ve had a rough week, pushed yourself too hard, or just feel stiff and knotted. That “special deep tissue massage” banner he goes through every day weighs heavily on his mind. You think, “Wow, I haven’t had a massage in a long time, and I’m waiting.” You go on a whim and in five minutes you find yourself almost naked, lying on a table with a sheet over your body.

For the next 45 minutes, you squirm and wince as snot pours out of your nose and onto the floor through the headrest as the masseuse drives her elbow under your shoulder blade, into your lower back, deep into your butt, and into places that they would make you tell him any secret if he would just stop! You leave feeling abused, beaten, wishing you had told her to calm down and a hundred dollars wasted. Here’s how to make her massage more enjoyable:

First, understand this:

A deep tissue massage releases accumulated toxins in your body target does not remove them. It just makes them uneasy. Toxins are eliminated through hydration, waste removal, and perspiration.. Often a deep tissue massage will make one feel dizzy and nauseous. This is due to disturbing toxins in a person who is not hydrated and loses a lot of electrolytes. You must hydrate before, during and after a deep tissue massage to balance the jolt of toxins your body experiences. And it’s wise to do a cardio session a few hours later to help flush those toxins out of the body. Plus, deep tissue massage actually creates external contractile forces in the muscles that can create micro-tears in your muscles (my theory contradicting some who say it creates lactate release), just like you would when you weight train. If the massage is hard, you may feel pain a day or two after receiving one. They can be painful.

Then, when you get a massage, opt for a “light deep tissue version” and tell the masseuse that you prefer rubbing the muscles instead of deep pressure. You want myofascial release techniques (Myofascial release techniques involve the application of gentle, sustained pressure on myofascial connective tissue restrictions to eliminate pain and restore motion) combined with some shiatsu (Shiatsu is a manipulative therapy developed in Japan that incorporates techniques from traditional Japanese massage, acupressure, stretching, and Western massage. Shiatsu involves applying pressure to points or certain areas of the body. Shiatsu, which can be translated as pressure with fingers, has been described as acupuncture without needles).

Ask your masseuse if he or she performs exercising (stretching, but not the harsh Thai massage type) associated with the massage. Tell them you want them to rub the muscles and then lengthen them, like untangling a strand of hair and combing it through in one fluid motion.

Finally, throughout your massage, you want incorporate deep breathing to help in the flow of oxygen, the elimination of toxins and relaxation. Did I say hydrate? in fact you want drink fluids throughout the massage. The warmer the room, the more you should drink.

So now you are armed with how to get a proper massage. Go relax!