Although they seem to use identical massage techniques, Swedish massage and deep tissue massage are not practiced in exactly the same way and have different objectives. To help you understand the nuances, we explain everything you need to know about Swedish massage and deep tissue massage.
What is Swedish massage?
Swedish massage is a dynamic massage technique whose objective is to relax the muscles in depth. Indeed, thanks to gestures that are both gentle and firm, Swedish massage helps relieve muscle tension and promote joint flexibility. In addition to muscles and joints, it also acts on the circulatory and nervous systems.
During a Swedish massage, the masseur mainly performs circular movements and uses various massage techniques such as effleurage, kneading, friction, and percussion. Covering all parts of the body including the primary muscle groups, Swedish massage is considered one of the most complete massages.
It is a massage where oil is used to fluidify the movements and give vertical pressure to the muscles. Imagined by the Swedish Pehr Heinrick Ling to optimize the performance of athletes, Swedish massage is today one of the most widespread massage techniques in the world.
Swedish massage: For whom?
Swedish massage is recommended for people suffering from muscle tension, stress, and blood circulation problems. Renowned for being a relaxing massage, it can also relieve osteoarthritis and help individuals affected by acute and chronic lower back, back pain.
What is deep-tissue?
The deep tissue massage or deep tissue massage aims to release muscle and nervous tension. The deep tissue massage thus focuses on the muscles and fascias by stretching them in order to undo the adhesions between the different muscle layers and the connective tissues.
It is an intense massage during which the masseur applies strong pressure and uses slow and deep movements. This is why it is generally practiced without oil.
Used to relieve tense muscles, tensions, and injuries and to correct bad postures, deep tissue massage is particularly appreciated for relieving tension in the neck, back, shoulders, legs, and thighs.
In addition to his fingers, the masseur can use his fists, elbows, and forearms to reach deep into the muscles and relieve tension.
Thanks to its techniques (stretching, compression, friction, and kneading), deep tissue massage is one of the best massage methods to reach the muscles in depth.
Deep tissue massage: For whom?
Deep tissue massage is primarily recommended for people with chronic pain, localized injuries, poor posture, muscle, tendon, and ligament stiffness.
It is also a massage particularly appreciated by athletes since it activates the circulation and warms up the muscles before a sports session, relieves cramps and aches, and softens and detoxifies the muscles after sports.
What is the difference between Swedish massage and deep tissue massage?
As you can see, Swedish massage and deep tissue massage are both used to relax muscles. However, these two massage techniques differ for several reasons.
To fully understand the differences between Swedish massage and deep tissue, here is what you need to remember:
Different pressure and movements:
The pressure is not the same for a Swedish massage as for a deep tissue massage. While Swedish massage uses long, slow, circular strokes with light to moderate pressure, deep tissue massage is more powerful and intense by targeting certain parts of the body with deep pressure.
Separate objectives:
Although it has benefits on muscles and joints and blood circulation, Swedish massage is above all a relaxing massage.
And for good reason, it relaxes the surface muscles. Conversely, deep tissue massage can act on deep muscle layers. It is not a recommended massage for a relaxation session but rather recommended to eliminate knots and/or chronic tensions.
