Different Types of Massages
Figuring out what type of massage is right for you can be challenging and even confusing. With so many modalities in the massage world, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out what is best suited for you. As your massage therapist, I am here to help!
Here is a breakdown of the Top 10 Massage Modalities that are popular amongst my clients.
1 - Swedish Massage: A Swedish massage is perhaps the most well-known type of massage, ideal for a first-time experience. The Swedish massage technique involves using long strokes, kneading, and gliding with light to firm pressure to ensure total body relaxation. Book a Swedish massage if you’re simply testing the waters of massage therapy, looking to reduce tension, or have no glaring issues to address.
2 - Deep Tissue: A step above a Swedish massage, the deep tissue massage uses more pressure and is aimed at releasing toxins built up in your muscles and blood. If you have muscle soreness, tightness, or injury, the slow strokes and deep finger pressure reach the deepest layers of your muscles and tissue to help chronic pain.
3 - Aromatherapy Massage: If essential oils are a passion of yours, you’ll love an aromatherapy massage. Your massage therapist will use an essential oil diffuser and diluted essential oils on their hands so your skin can absorb the oils. An aromatherapy massage can help boost your mood while easing your tension.
4 - Hot Stone Massage: A hot stone massage is another gentle massage to ease mental and physical tension. Much like a Swedish massage, it uses gentle pressure. But instead of just using their hands, your therapist will also use heated stones made of volcanic rock to help improve blood flow. The stones are typically placed along your spine, feet, face, palms, and stomach. Cold stones may be used toward the end of the massage to soothe your skin. A hot stone massage can also help ease chronic pain from arthritis or fibromyalgia.
5 - Shiatsu: Originating in ancient Japan, the Shiatsu massage uses fingertip pressure for pain relief. Freeing blockages to your natural energy flow, or Qi, is the primary goal of a Shiatsu massage. You use your knuckles and elbow in addition to fingertips to loosen your muscles, improve your circulation, and restore your energy. Shiatsu massage can positively impact your nervous system, digestion, insomnia, and headaches.
6 - Sports Massage: You don’t have to be an athlete to get a sports massage. A sports massage is good for people suffering from chronic pain in specific muscles due to repetitive or continued use, as well as multiple injuries. If your job requires walking and standing for eight hours a day and lifting heavy objects, you might not necessarily be an athlete, but you could still have chronic injuries to a specific area. A sports massage uses deep pressure and soothing strokes on targeted areas to heal overuse and increase performance.
7 - Prenatal Massage: A prenatal massage helps release tension by the increased weight of a growing baby, can reduce mom’s blood pressure, and aids in flexibility for the impending birth. You’ll lie on your side while holding onto a specialty pillow. I will avoid massaging your abdomen, hands, and feet because of various trigger points.
8 - Chair Massage: If your neck and upper back are the primary sources of tension in your body, a chair massage is a great fit. These mini massages are done in a specially designed chair with your chest facing into the back and your head placed in a typical massage table hole. For those who sit at a desk most of the day, a chair massage can help alleviate back, neck, and shoulder pain caused by hunching over a desk and looking down at screens or keyboards.
9 - Reflexology: reflexology massage focuses on pressure points in your feet, hands, and ears. This type of massage is good for anyone who is not comfortable being touched across their entire body. It’s believed that these pressure points—when properly massaged—aid in the functioning of vital organs. Reflexology massage can improve circulation and nerve functions, reduce headaches, and boost your energy.
10 - Cranial Sacral Therapy: is sometimes also referred to as craniosacral therapy. It’s a type of bodywork that relieves compression in the bones of the head, sacrum (a triangular bone in the lower back), and spinal column. CST is noninvasive. It uses gentle pressure on the head, neck, and back to relieve the stress and pain caused by compression. It can, as a result, help to treat a number of conditions.
Hope to see you all soon in my treatment room!
Billy
