No.  More importantly, deep tissue massage should not hurt. There’s a common misconception that massage, especially Deep Tissue, the more painful the massage the more effective it is, however, research has proven this to be wrong.

What exactly is deep tissue massage? Deep Tissue Massage is typically considered to be any technique that is meant to affect the deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue. So, it’s often assumed that deep tissue massage means applying deep pressure, when that’s actually not the case at all. In fact, some very light touch techniques can be used to still affect those deep layers of muscle and connective tissue.

The reason why we don’t offer a Swedish Massage or a Deep Tissue Massage here at the studio, is because your best massage is not about a specific set of techniques.  Your best massage is designed based on the results you are looking to achieve and we use a combination of massage techniques to achieve the desired result. Depending on your goals from the massage, we will combine Swedish Massage, which is generally long fluid strokes, using whatever pressure makes you comfortable with  Deep Tissue Massage, which involves a number of more direct manual techniques, using whatever pressure you’re comfortable with, to relieve pain and tension on a deeper level within the body.

The most important aspect of your massage is communication. You need to let us know what results you’re looking for from the massage, and speak up at any time throughout if the pressure feels too deep or too light. We can give a deep Swedish Massage and a light Deep Tissue Massage, or any combination thereof. It’s all about what you want.

Sometimes Deep Tissue Massage can cause discomfort when certain tender areas are addressed. The thing to keep in mind, is that it should never go beyond a “good hurt”, the kind where it’s uncomfortable, but you can breathe through it easily, the muscles can stay relaxed, and it’s got a hint of relief mixed in with the hurt. That’s perfectly fine. But if the pressure exceeds that “good hurt” and goes into true pain, where you make funny faces, hold your breath, or feel like you need to tense up your muscles, that means we’re doing more harm than good.

The entire point of your massage, whether Swedish, Deep Tissue, or any other massage technique, is to relax the body and release any built up tension in the muscles.

Above all, please don’t ever ‘tough’ out a deep tissue massage because you think being in pain during your massage means you will feel much better after your massage.  It doesn’t.  When you book your massage here, we can reduce your pain with massage without causing more pain!