Have you ever had a massage? The answer is mostly likely, yes. However, have you ever experienced Calispine deep tissue therapy? Probably not. We have treated thousands of patients with deep tissue therapy and the results have been life changing for them.

In this blog, we discuss the various types of deep tissue therapy that we use in our office and go over the benefits of each.

What Is Deep Tissue Therapy?

At Calispine, deep tissue therapy involves the use of various methods to manually lengthen, mobilize, and breakdown scar tissue found in muscle and fascia.

Scar tissue or muscle adhesions can build up in your muscles and fascia after months or years of repetitive motion. Without proper stretching, myofascial release, or massage, scar tissue will slowly build up. Scar tissue eventually reduces blood flow to the muscles and restricts the movement of muscle fibers, causing pain. Deep tissue massages help re-introduce blood flow to the muscles realigning the fibers and fascia.

Each of the methods we use is meant to address a certain phase for a patient. The techniques we use depend on the severity of the scar tissue. In some cases, we may only need to use our thumbs to do trigger point release therapy to break up scar tissue.

What Is Trigger Point Release Therapy?

This type of deep tissue massage is meant for patients that either have small muscle adhesions or a very low pain tolerance. Using just our thumbs, we apply sustained pressure to a section of the muscle and pulse slowly allowing the muscle fibers to release. This is our go to deep tissue method for a majority of first time patients.

Active Release Technique (ART)

This technique produces incredible results by quickly and effectively lengthening muscle tissue and eliminating scar tissue. The idea behind ART is simple: pin down the muscle in an affected region and then move the body part in a way that the muscle fibers are pulled through your fingers.

Scraping or Graston Technique

This is another excellent technique that helps to realign tissue fibers, bring blood flow to fascia, and break up any restrictions between the muscle and other connective tissues. We like to compare the technique of scraping to brushing the knots out of your hair. Scraping is a lot more uncomfortable than brushing your hair, but the results are miraculous in areas like the forearm, feet, and IT band where the fascia is very thick.

Percussive Devices

Our Acupulse Device, or “The Drill”, is the most effective scar tissue breakdown tool that we use in our office. The Drill is used to help break up tight muscles, such as the QL pain. It can also be used over areas like the neck, wrist, and foot. The Drill immediately breaks down any tight muscle and fascial fibers.

In our office, the Acupulse is most often used for the large low back, shoulder, and thigh muscles.

To learn more about our deep tissue therapies, get in touch with us online.