Many times I will meet a client who tells me they want Deep Tissue because they have specific areas that are hurting and some big knots that are limiting their range of motion. While those are scenarios in which Deep Tissue is appropriate, how deep is too deep?
I work with a wide variety of massage styles and talents and among them, I tend to be one the therapists that gets requested for Deep Tissue frequently. One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is how a huge body building man asks me to ease up the pressure on him, while the tiniest, skinniest women will want me to go deeper, even though I feel like I might snap them like a twig. Shouldn't that be the other way around?
However, while that is a running joke among us therapists, I'm actually ok with it, because those clients are communicating with the therapist the way they should. One mistake that many clients can make is thinking they need to suck it up and breathe through it when they're getting Deep Tissue even though they are in a lot of pain. If you feel like you're at a 10 on the pain scale, the pressure is too deep. This happens with my clients frequently where I check in with them and offer to lighten and they say, "It's ok. I'll deal with it. I know I need it," while they're laying there unconsciously tensing up. The point of massage is to get rid of tension, not create more. Plus, if a therapist has her thumb embedded deep in a clients trapezius and then the client suddenly tenses up from the pain, they could end up harming their own muscles under the guise of, "I know I need it."
Deep Tissue is a wonderful modality that can have a very positive impact on the body and I strongly advocate it, but it must be used appropriately. Your doctors office probably has a pain scale chart hanging up somewhere, and that's the same type of basis we use. But we don't want a 10. Ideally, the client should be at around a 6 or a 7; deep enough where it hurts, but it doesn't hurt enough where you tense up. So the next time you're getting a massage and you think you "need" to feel the pain, don't take it to extremes. Enjoy your massage.
