Massage/Self Massage Lengthens Tight/Shortened Muscles Back Into Relaxed Muscles With A Normal Length

The Two Main Benefits To Massage
There are two main benefits to massage. The first benefit is that repeated massage will re-establish normal length and normal function to tight/shortened muscles. Click here to read about the second benefit of reducing the lactic acid/toxic accumulation in the muscle.

The Two Types Of Massage Pressure
A Steady, Sustained Pressure
There are two types of massage pressure. A steady pressure of pushing down into a spot in the muscle. This steady pressure is the method that I use the most; and the method that I recommend when a patient does self massage. This steady pressure is similar to putting your fist into bread dough. As you push your fist into the bread dough, the bread dough flattens out/squishes out/lengthens from the steady pressure of your fist. This steady pressure can be coupled with going back and forth just a little bit; not enough to lose the spot that you are pressing into.
The most important rule with massage and with self massage is to not irritate the nerves. Nerves can be irritated by a steady, sustained pressure. Click here to review this most important point.

Stroking/Gliding Along The Skin
The second type of pressure is stroking along the skin. This is done when a massage therapist puts lotion or oil on your skin and then presses down and slides along the skin. This is similar to using a rolling pin to flatten out the bread dough. Both ways have positive effects.
The most important rule with massage and with self massage is to not irritate the nerves. Nerves can be irritated by a gliding pressure. Click here to review this most important point.

Why I Prefer Steady Pressure Compared To A Gliding Pressure
I much prefer the steady pressure as a more effective way to loosen tight muscles. You almost always need to put a deeper massage pressure into the muscle to completely release the muscle. This deeper massage pressure is better accomplished by a steady pressure compared to a gliding pressure.
Keeping a steady pressure on a sore or tight spot within a muscle gives that muscle more of an opportunity to release the tension. This is similar to doing a yoga pose. If you do the yoga pose for three breaths, you give the muscles a much smaller opportunity to release tension than if you hold the yoga pose for ten breaths. Holding the steady pressure allows that specific tightness in the muscle a greater opportunity to release tension than gliding over it. Gliding over that spot has pressure temporarily on and then off and then on and then off. This varying of pressure on and off doesn't allow the pressure to penetrate as well into the deeper fibers of the muscle. When the pressure penetrates into the deeper fibers of the muscle you give the muscle the best opportunity to completely release the tension all the way from the surface of the muscle to the deepest part of the muscle. It's often that it's in the deepest part of the muscle where the tension is that most needs to be released for the muscle to return to normal.

Click here to go to the central page for Massage, Self Massage and Muscles.

Click here to go to the main page of the website.