So much to choose from....
There are many different types of massage. So which one is the right one for you? It truly depends on what you want to achieve from your treatment. Do you want a nice, soothing massage where you don't really want to feel deep pain? Or are you wanting that deep pressure and to "feel the pain" towards release? This section should help clarify the different types of massage that are available.
Swedish
Swedish Massage: Traditional European massage style which incorporates, effleurage (long, smoothing strokes), pettrissage (kneading strokes),Tapotement (a quick choppy rhythmic movement), and friction (deep cross-fiber strokes). It can be done lightly or very deeply, with much variation, and can incorporate other types of deep-tissue massage as well.
Sports
A sports massage is a more prescribed application of techniques in a timely and systematic method to manipulate the soft tissue to support function, performance, and recovery of the client. A sports massage usually include stretches and intentional strokes towards specific muscles used in performance .
Trigger Point
Trigger Point Therapy: the therapist locates points that are hyper-sensitive and refer pain to other areas. These often follow common patterns and can be seen on a trigger point chart. The therapist repeatedly applies deep holding pressure to these points and (followed by stretching of the muscle). Often this releases the chronic pain pattern.
Deep Tissue
Generally when people ask for a deep-tissue massage, they really just mean they want "deep" work, the level of which is quite individual. In true "deep-tissue massage, the therapist uses techniques that are different than Swedish techniques, but usually they incorporate some "Swedish" in any massage. Deep-tissue techniques include myofascial release work and trigger point work.
Structural Integration
Structural Integration is a scientifically validated body therapy. Unlike massage, Structural Integration focuses not on the muscles but on their protective layer, called fascia. Muscles are contracting tissues that give the body and organs physical movement. The fascia surrounds the muscles, bones and organs in the body. The fascia gives muscles their shape and the body its structure. It's suppose to allow individual movement of each muscle when healthy.
Structural Integration aligns and balances the body by lengthening and repositioning the fascia. As fascia is lengthened it allows the muscles to move more efficiently. The practitioner will apply pressure to the body, working the entire fascial system in a systematic way. When restricted fascia is released and lengthened the body can return to its structurally optimal position
Cranial / Sacral
CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on approach that releases tensions deep in the body to relieve pain and dysfunction and improve whole-body health and performance. It was pioneered and developed by Osteopathic Physician John E. Upledger after years of clinical testing and research at Michigan State University where he served as professor of biomechanics.
Using a soft touch which is generally no greater than 5 grams – about the weight of a nickel – practitioners release restrictions in the soft tissues that surround the central nervous system. CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease, and it''s effective for a wide range of medical problems associated with pain and dysfunction.