Therapeutic Massage vs. Relaxation Massage

One of the questions we get asked a lot is, "how do I know what kind of massage should I get?" In general, there are two types of massages: Therapeutic and relaxation.

Therapeutic Massage

When we talk about therapeutic massage, we talk about Tui-Na medical-massage. It aims to heal the pain, help you function and move, and improve your overall health. We have discussed about Tui-Na massage more extensively in our other blog,

However, therapeutic massage differs from relaxation massage because you will feel the pain during and after the treatment. Tui-Na aims to solve your muscular pain/soreness from its root cause by massaging your acu-points and meridians, which go deeper than deep tissue massage. People experience painfulness after Tui-Na for different duration of time, depending on their body condition and the severity of the issue, and it is very normal. I always use one metaphor to compare remodeling versus cleaning up the house. While cleaning up the house will make the house look clean and comfortable, it does not address the issue fundamentally and will not last. Tui-Na helped to expose your issue within your body, which was why you were feeling pain afterward.

Relaxation Massage

Think of Swedish massage or Deep Tissue massage. If you just wanted to relax and unwind from stress/work/life, they are great! Relaxation massage is gentle and calm, it helps to de-stress and relax the mind and body. Most of all, it is Pain Free.