A Guide to Massage Services – Part 1

Many of our members are unclear on what separates one spa service from another. This inspired us to create a series of blogs that describe our slate of services to help you make an informed decision on which spa treatment is right for you. Here are three tried and true massage techniques that are sure to have you coming back for more!

Swedish Massage

Swedish massage is the most common type of massage therapy. This style consists of soft, long, kneading strokes intermixed with light, rhythmic, tapping strokes along the surface of the muscles. Swedish massage also includes joint movement. This type of massage relieves muscle tension, and in doing so can be both relaxing and energizing.

There are four components of a Swedish massage. There’s effleurage, which is a smooth motion intended to relax soft tissue. Following effleurage, petrissage consists of a more intense squeezing, rolling, or kneading across the same soft tissues. Friction goes deeper, as its circular movements are designed to have layers of tissue rub against one another to increase blood flow and break down scar tissue. Lastly, there’s tapotement, short, rapid tapping done across the areas being treated by cupped hands, the fingers, or the edge of the hand.

Sport Massage

Sport massage is designed to do exactly what you might expect: better your results in a particular sport. Depending on the sport, this type of massage targets the muscle groups most essential to maximizing performance. Using a variety of techniques, sport massage helps athletes in training before, during, or after participating in sports.

When performed after a competition, sport massage aids recovery by flushing lactic acid out of an athlete’s system, preventing athletes from having muscle pain, soreness, and stiffness the next day. Prior to a sporting event, sport massage is more geared to loosening up muscles to optimize performance. Sport massage can improve flexibility and guard against injury. If suffering from an injury, sport massage helps athletes recover from nagging injuries such as muscle strains and tendonitis.

Deep Tissue

When it comes to the different types of massage, deep tissue is best for treating the most painful, troublesome parts in the body. In deep tissue massage, the massage therapist uses slow, methodical strokes that put pressure on muscles, tendons, or tissues deep under a patient’s skin. Though the techniques used are less rhythmic than other types of massage, patients who opt for deep tissue massage often find it to be extremely therapeutic and effective in relieving chronic ailments such as back and neck pain.

Some of our most popular choices: Swedish, Sport, and Deep Tissue Massage are all fantastic ways to spend your day at the CGI spa. Keep an eye out for our next entry, where we discuss some of our lesser known, more exotic selections that will make your trip to the spa feel like a vacation.

For more details about our facilities and full range of Massage Services, visit our Spa Amenities and Spa Services pages.