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The 3 MAIN types of massage are Relaxation (or ‘Swedish‘), Therapeutic (or ‘clinical’) and Sports. The names primarily designate the goals/reasons for the session. Relaxation massage focuses on stress reduction and making a client feel relaxed and refreshed. Stress reduction is therapeutic (!) so you see how quickly it all gets fuzzy.

Therapeutic/clinical massage usually focuses on relieving pain or muscle tension. It can be full body but is modified to spend more time on the client’s area of concern. Therapeutic massage involves ‘clinical’ techniques—meant to be effective rather than just feel good. Deep tissue and trigger point therapy are examples. The specific techniques used depend on the therapist’s training & experience, with many therapists focusing on several modalities. Therapeutic massage is a great way to maintain wellness and keep those pesky muscular complaints at bay. As such, the client normally decides how often they need the treatment.

Medical massage is a highly specialized form of massage that focuses on finding the real cause of the pain and using proven methods to address it. It does not imply massage being done in a medical setting or per a prescription, although both can be true. Here are some distinctions:

• Symptoms are thoroughly assessed to identify and eliminate the underlying trigger. If therapeutic massage has not relieved your pain, then there may be a hidden trigger.

• Therapists have advanced training in assessment and clinical reasoning.

• Work is limited to muscles and areas that need to be addressed. Leaving a smaller footprint allows the body to better respond.

• Sessions are done as a course of treatment, usually 1-2 times per week for several weeks. Clients must agree to this approach.

• Only clinically-proven massage techniques are used, and therapists must be skilled in all of these. They include lymphatic drainage, connective-tissue massage, neuromuscular therapy, PNF stretching, vibration massage, periosteal massage, cross-fiber friction, myofascial release, and segment reflex massage.

If you have pain or chronic tension that regular massage has helped but has not resolved, please see us for a FREE medical massage consultation.