Deep Tissue Massage is a type of massage that aims at working on the deeper layers of muscles, tendons, ligaments and connective tissues (fascia), specifically targeted at resolving certain muscular-skeletal disorders and complaints by clearing adhesions, tensions, contractions, knots and tangles.
It’s often considered more therapeutic (or medical) than non-deep tissue massages, that is, than those massages that work rather superficially on the body and are more aimed at relaxation.
Deep tissue massage therapies are aimed at pain relief, rehabilitation after injury, promoting more flexibility and increasing range of motion, while alleviating a range of discomforts such as neck stiffness, whiplash, sports injuries, postural alignment, low back pains or tightness, knee pains, tight shoulders, and such.
Typically, the massage therapist will use fingers, thumbs, fist, elbows and forearms to give the massage.
In general, many massage treatment modalities can be applied as a deep tissue massage. Think of Thai Massage, Shiatsu, Tuina, and Sports Massage, just to give some examples.