"Deep Tissue Massage" and Soft-Tissue Rehabilitation

I offer an integrated form of Swedish massage, trigger point massage therapy and deep tissue massage work without integration of other modalities as an option for returning clients only. I am not accepting any new clients seeking only massage therapy. If you are a new client, please book a 90-min Integrated Somatic Bodywork/New Client Session.

Pain is your body's number one tool for letting you know it's time to take care of yourself! If not remedied, your muscular system can fall into patterns of movement and structure that not only reinforce pain, but can have reverberating effects on the skeletal system. Soft-tissue manipulation can help muscles "relearn" helpful, strong, pain-free patterns, so your body works for you, not against you.

My approach to massage therapy is that it is one tool in your toolbox for self-healing. I invite you to consider that although receiving full-pressure touch (Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue massage, trigger point massage therapy, myofascial release therapy, etc) might be beneficial for immediate pain relief, other therapy methods, modalities or approaches (including Craniosacral Therapy and Somatic Experiencing) might benefit you for longer-lasting relief and change. I am always here to support you in creating the environment for you best to find that change. 

A bodywork session is always crafted to fit an individual client’s needs and goals, which is discussed before each session. My varied experience and training inform what variety of techniques or therapies might best be offered to help facilitate the body’s process of rehabilitation and renewal. 

Muscle and soft-tissue manipulation (Swedish massage, trigger point massage therapy, etc.) is intended to soften and lengthen fibers and remove fascial adhesions. The goal is to support the body’s natural process of elimination of metabolic waste and renewal of oxygenated blood to tissues, stimulate the circulatory process and calm the nervous system. Varying amounts of pressure are used according to the pliability of the tissues. Techniques can include broad glides, light squeezing or compressions, and very gentle rocking or vibration. 

Slower, more direct pressure can be applied to isolated areas of muscle groups to facilitate the softening and lengthening of muscle fibers that are adhered and therefore working less efficiently, causing pain or limited range-of-motion. 

Commonly understood as “deep tissue massage”, Soft-Tissue Rehabilitation helps alleviate the sensation of irritation in deeper layers of tissue when various levels of pressure are applied to superficial layers of tissue, which, as they themselves rehabilitate, expose the underlying source of pain in a deeper muscle. “Deep tissue” often is mistaken for meaning “more pressure”. This is rarely the solution; rather, more anatomical precision and isolated, specific pressure produces more effective results. 

Soft-tissue Rehabilitation may be a useful intervention for these symptoms: sharp or acute pain or injury, pain or discomfort in a specific portion of the body, pain that continually recurs after some activities and doesn’t go away, or pain that results from physical traumas, arthritis, skeletal asymmetry, overloaded muscles or repetitive stress injuries.

Rehabilitative techniques can include but are not limited to myofascial manipulation, trigger point therapy, movement re-education, cross-fiber friction and various western Style Swedish/relaxation techniques. The goal is always to help you feel better in your body!