Deep Tissue Massage Firm Pressure or Not?

Last time I blogged, I wrote about licensing compared to certification for massage therapists in Kansas.  Now I'd like to tell you what I've learned in the last year since I opened May 1, 2012.  There seems to be too much weight put on how long a therapist has been in business compared to whether or not someone has been to an accredited school.  Just so you know if you haven't read my website about me, I'm a 3rd generation massage therapist, but more importantly, I attended an accredited school acquiring 750 credit hours of school for massage therapy and graduated with a 4.0 GPA with honors.  Going back to the weight of how long someone has been in business, there is a massage business that has been in Topeka for 31 years.  What I'm finding is that the clients I'm massaging don't believe me if they have gone to that place because of what they tell you that deep tissue massage is.  So here is what they tell people, based on what my daughter heard the owner say at a career day, which I tried to warn my daughter she was going to hear wrong info when she got there..."Deep tissue is going in as far as you can, then going as hard as you can."  Now, I have to also let you know the owner, to my knowledge, has not been to an accredited school for massage therapy.  Here is how I learned deep tissue at school...deep tissue has NOTHING to do with pressure.  With deep tissue massage, one only pushes hard enough til the tissue pushes back.  If any of you have had a massage, you know that when a knot or an adhesion is touched, especially with lots of pressure, it hurts, and it isn't effective no matter what you've been told.  Now, as you hold that tissue, it will change, one sinks into the tissue (This is why it is called deep tissue, BTW.), usually very slowly, and as it changes, the tissue will allow you to move.  The adhesion's or knots will jump away from the therapist with lots of pressure.  Another reason not to go in with lots of pressure.
Here is how I explain what it feels like to me as I'm doing deep tissue...if I could put my finger or thumb without burning myself on a piece of butter as it is melting, that is what deep tissue massage feels like to me.  Clients that have been to another therapist that does deep tissue any other way don't like me because I won't go hard or firmly over knots or adhesion's (Some of them even tell me, right when the knot is trying to jump away from me to go harder.).  Yes, I care that they don't like it, but I'd much rather break up that knot or adhesion the right way hopefully not making them feel sore than to leave them with a knot in there muscle and sore the next day.  So, let me ask you, which would you rather have...the knot still in your muscle and sore for a day or two or the knot gone with little to no soreness from the massage?  I realize some people love pressure.  Great!  I'm probably not the therapist for you and I hope you don't come to me.  I can do pressure, but I'd still rather give you what you need than only to give you what you want.  I tell people all the time, if you'll let my hands listen to your body, you will get what you need.  I've had clients tell me I'm hard to describe.  They tell other people that I have firm pressure, but I'm gentle.
I hope you've all learned something from reading this and will take into consideration in your next massage if you are truly letting your therapist give you what you need or what you want?  And, are they doing things correctly, especially deep tissue.  And, if you are paying more for deep tissue, but just lots of pressure, you are paying extra for no reason.  I charge extra for an all deep tissue massage, but I tell everyone not to ask for it because it goes back to that part I said if you let my hands listen to you, you are going to get what you need.  Everyone needs some deep tissue somewhere, usually around the neck and/or scapula.  So, with me, you'll get a mix of many things without the extra charge.  Looking forward to the next massage.