Myofascial Massage Treatment: Why It’s More Than Just Deep Tissue

By Calvin Ku, RMT

When people think about massage, they think of a closed door room with the aroma diffuser and relaxing music playing while the therapist performs slow relaxing techniques. What if I told you that massage doesn’t have to be this way and it actually has endless possibilities. You’ve probably heard of a deep tissue massage and relaxation massage but have you heard of trigger point massage or myofascial release massage? Well whether you have or have not, we’re going to go in depth of why everyone should get a myofascial massage treatment. 

What is myofascial? Breaking down the word myofascial; myo means muscles and fascial means fascia. We all know what muscles are, so why don’t we get into what fascia is. Fascia is a type of connective tissue that provides structural support and is found all over the body. Fascia essentially holds everything in place like a spider’s web or the air filled packaging in your amazon boxes. It prevents the movement of the muscles, organs, blood vessels and other tissues in the body from moving around. Fascia, in this sense, seems like a good thing because we don’t want our heart falling down into our stomach. However, if you think about the fascia around the muscles and joints, if the fascia gets too stiff and restrictive, it would greatly affect your movement and posture. This is where myofascial treatments combined with deep tissue treatments shine the most!

A myofascial treatment differs from your typical relaxation massage since it does not involve lotions or oils and can be painful due to the pressure. The therapist applies the pressure directly on the skin. This allows massage therapists to directly affect the fascia without gliding or sliding on the surface of the skin. First, we would begin with the superficial fascia which attaches the skin to the muscles. We would then progressively work deeper into the body’s fascia eventually reaching the fascia that connects muscles to each other. Our goal here would be to loosen up all the stiff connective tissue from the surface of the skin down to the itty bitty muscle fibres themselves. 

The benefits of this type of treatment leads to:

• Increased range of motion/reduced restrictions

• Increased flexibility

• Reduction in tension and adhesions

• Increased blood flow 

• Reduced pain and

• Improvements in posture

  
  

Some side effects can include:

• Pain during and/or after treatment

• Burning sensation 

• Hyperemia

• Inflammation

• Muscle soreness 

  
  

A myofascial treatment can be geared towards almost anyone who’s looking to gain range of motion, eliminate their long term tension/pain, or most importantly improve their posture! 

Curious if myofascial massage is right for your body?

Book a treatment at Swing Lab and experience deep, therapeutic relief that helps you move better and feel better.

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