As an educator, author Jimmy Gialelis often speaks with massage therapists in his classroom about the perspectives of massage their clients hold true. This article will delve into six common massage myths held by clients. Gialelis has selected client-held myths that are commonly related to him by fellow massage therapists.
1. “Massage has to be deep to be effective.” Many clients express their belief that massage has to be deep to be effective—but deep pressure is a subjective idea. Proper communication is necessary to ensure safe application of deeper pressure. It is important to express that hurting a client to the point their body elicits a sympathetic response is counterproductive. Healing cannot occur during a fight, flight or freeze response.
Also, a massage therapist needs to discuss how a client interprets the concept of deep tissue. Does the term deep tissue mean more pressure or precise pressure? Does the term refer to specific pain regions within the body? What are the expectations of a client with this term? Ensuring both the therapist and client are matching interpretations of the term deep tissue can avoid confusion and unrealized expectations.