This is the third of the 31 in 31 Annual August Blogging Challenge and the second in my “What If” series.
What if we could begin to understand that depth is subjective?
Massage should not hurt. Deep tissue work need not be painful. Manual therapies performed correctly will not leave bruises. Can we all agree to this?
Personally I am really tired of people creating a construct of competitiveness in receiving a massage. I do not want to be dared to hurt you. I do not understand any therapeutic benefit to see how much pressure you can take. Barreling through tissue with reckless abandon has no place in my practice of Massage Therapy.
I was one of the lucky ones that learned a long time ago in massage school to listen, feel, sink and follow the tissues. Depth is subjective. What is deep to one person may be merely medium and found wanting in another. So, my goal is to find your depth. So when I ask you to let me know if you would like more or less pressure, I mean it. I will not get my feelings hurt. I promise I will not ignore you. I will respond and we can work together to create your best massage today.
“I need not say that some tact is needed in slowly increasing the force of the friction and depth of pressure.” Douglas Graham, MD 1902
This isn’t new information. Why do I and many other Massage Therapists continue to hear tales of woe from clients about their last massage that hurt so bad and left bruises?
“The idea that “massage must be painful” is old and false. The grasp of the hand must be gentle and sympathetic, yet of sufficient firmness. Only by repeated practice can one judge the right amount of pressure.” Max Bohm, MD Berlin, Germany 1920
On the other hand why do clients sometimes feel like they cannot give feedback or that we know better so they should just lay there and take it and decide if it worked later?
We do know better. We should be feeling these tissues, meeting the edge and not forcing it but, encouraging it to melt in front of our hands. We can be finding the best therapeutic pressure for each person and even each area of the body because it can change. We could allow the space for the person on the table and their body to respond. Embrace the concept of working with someone and not on someone.
“However, before we advanced enough to lay hands on the human beings who were look for relief from pain, and once we had learned the many different movements that scientific massage consist of, we trained on one another. During the learning process we both gave and received blue marks all over our bodies. As they diminished in size and color, we reached the stage where we were allowed to work on the patients who were seeking help for their aliments.” Signe Turner Moren 1931
Depth is not just pressure. You have to take into consideration what part of the hand you are using. The larger the area in applying pressure to the body, the more diffuse the pressure feels to the receiver. So the same amount of pressure applied with a thumb and a full palm will feel different because of this.
The perspective of depth changes depending on the speed. The deeper you go, the slower you go.
Angles leverage and trajectories are important. Sometimes that spot that hurts has to be approached from a different angle. I don’t just rub, I am aiming and assessing the whole time as well.
There is little less frustrating than to be getting a massage and feel the therapist brush past that spot, or go all the way around it. So speak up please and let us know if that happens.
My target is your comfort, relief, safety and satisfaction. If you do not call 610-906-2322 to make an appointment with me, please have a conversation with your massage therapist about depth and what you expect in your next session.