Cross Fiber Techniques in Massage Therapy

Cross Fiber Massage is also called Cross Friction Massage, Cross Fiber Friction, Deep Friction Massage, or Transverse Friction Massage, and is a Deep Tissue Massage technique notably applied for injury rehabilitation.

The massage primarily works on muscles, tendons and ligaments to aid in keeping soft tissue mobility, to heal ripped or torn fibers, and to reduce scar tissue.

Cross Fiber Friction is typically applied on body tissues injured due to, for instance, a tennis elbow, rotator cuff tears, muscle tears, or tendinitis. It’s used both as a preventive and curative modality.

The massage technique itself is perhaps best described as when playing a guitar string, applying so-called strumming, that is, sweeping the thumb or fingers up or down across the strings (thus, in the case of massage across body fibers and tissues). Sometimes it’s also applied in a more circular motion.

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