Deep Tissue Massage

Deep Tissue Massage

If you suffer from chronic neck and back pain, chiropractic care and deep tissue massage go hand-in-hand to help manage your pain. Our experienced chiropractor, Dr. Denise Gimbel, frequently integrates deep tissues massage with chiropractic adjustments. This combination enhances pain relief and improves your quality of life.

What is Deep Tissue Massage?

This style of massage therapy targets deep layers of connective tissues to release trapped muscle tension and restore flexibility. Our chiropractor performs deep tissue massage using long, kneading strokes at a slower pace and with more intense pressure than Swedish massage. Instead of focusing on full-body relaxation, it targets specific problem areas.

Massage Works on the Body’s Soft Tissues

Massage includes many techniques that work on muscles and other soft tissues. Deep tissue massage uses slower, firmer pressure to reach deeper layers in the areas that need it most.

“Massage therapy includes a variety of techniques in which practitioners manipulate the soft tissues of the body.”

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Fibromyalgia: In Depth”

Close-up of a hand gripping a weight plate on a barbell beside gray and pink sneakers on a gym floor

Person holding both hands on the lower back with an illustration of the lower spine shown over the skin

How Does Deep Tissue Massage Relieve Pain?

Chronic neck and back pain can involve adhesions, which are bands of stiff scar tissue in muscles, tendons, and ligaments that often form after an injury. Adhesions can limit blood flow, movement, and flexibility, and they can add to inflammation.

Deep tissue massage uses firm, targeted pressure and friction to help loosen these adhesions and improve blood flow to your muscles. It may help patients with mobility injuries, posture problems, repetitive strain injuries, or chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. If you deal with muscle spasms or ongoing pain, our chiropractor can help release trapped tension.

Massage May Help Some Fibromyalgia Symptoms Over Time

Research suggests massage may ease some fibromyalgia symptoms when it is continued for at least five weeks. For neck and back pain, the relief from massage is often short-term, which is why Dr. Gimbel often pairs it with chiropractic adjustments.

“Massage therapy may be helpful for some fibromyalgia symptoms if it’s continued for long enough.”

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Massage Therapy: What You Need To Know”

Design Your Treatment Plan with a Chiropractor

Before your first treatment session with Dr. Gimbel, she will design a treatment plan that focuses on your specific pain management needs while taking your pre-existing health conditions into account. As a general guideline, most patients benefit from regular 60-minute sessions with our chiropractor. We can adjust session length and frequency to meet your wellness needs.

Be aware that deep tissue massage isn’t right for everyone. If you have heart disease or are prone to blood clots, consult your doctor before pursuing this form of treatment.

What to Expect During a Deep Tissue Massage

During treatment, Dr. Gimbel concentrates on your trouble areas, which may include the neck, shoulders, lower back or legs. She’ll advise you to breathe deeply as she applies intense pressure to these areas. As you do, you encourage oxygen-rich blood to flow into the newly relaxed muscle area for healing to begin. Receiving treatment can be deeply satisfying as you feel tense areas finally releasing under the practiced hands of Dr. Gimbel.

Metabolic waste and toxins are also released from muscle tissue during your massage. Drink plenty of water after each treatment session to flush these toxins from your body.

Schedule Deep Tissue Massage with a Chiropractor
To learn more about the benefits of deep tissue massage, or to schedule a treatment session, please contact Shadowood Chiropractic Center at (561) 488-4000.

Frequently Asked Questions About Deep Tissue Massage

If you’ve been hearing positive things about deep tissue massage, you may be wondering what this kind of therapy is all about, how it works, and whether it might be just the thing to help you with your own physical issues. Here at Shadowood Chiropractic Center, we don’t hesitate to administer it as an effective treatment for a wide range of physical problems. Here are some frequently asked questions we receive on the subject.

What is deep tissue massage?

Deep tissue massage is a specialized massage technique often offered alongside other techniques such as Swedish massage, sports massage and trigger point therapy. This technique frees and relaxes muscles, fascia, and other connective tissues that lie beneath the more easily-treated superficial tissues.

How is the technique different from Swedish massage?

Swedish massage (the technique most people are familiar with) uses light strokes intended to stimulate blood flow and relieve muscle tension close to the surface of the skin. Since deep tissue massage is aimed at tissues closer to the bones, it requires the use of more forceful strokes, even though many of the motion themselves are more or less the same.

What conditions can be treated?

This treatment focuses on problems such as adhesions, areas of scar tissue that are binding other tissues painfully and limiting motion. It also treats muscle knits too deep to be released through other methods. It is a useful tool for conditions such as fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, sports injuries, back pain, neck pain, sciatica and chronic muscle strain.

Is the treatment painful?

Some discomfort may occur as we work to free up adhesions or deep-seated muscle knots. But we can adjust the massage technique is you simply let us know you’re hurting. We may also instruct you to take deeper breaths as we work on more sensitive areas. It’s all more than worth it if we can banish long-term chronic pain and stiffness that has limited your life for some time.

What can I expect after treatment?

After your first sessions, you may have some lingering soreness, which can easily be soothed with ice applications. You might also feel a bit light-headed, the result of toxins making their way out of your body. We recommend that you drink plenty of water to aid this process.

How does your chiropractic clinic prescribe deep tissue massage?

Our chiropractor, Dr. Gimbel often prescribes deep tissue massage in conjunction with other forms of conservative care such as spinal adjustment and extremity adjustment. This holistic approach allows us to address both alignment issues and soft tissue pain or damage as part of your personalized treatment program.