Kristen Sykora: Hi! I am Kristen Sykora, massage therapist and member of the American Massage Therapy Association. I am here today to help you get the most out of your next massage. Right now, I am going to discuss with you two different types of massage, that are most commonly seen, Swedish massage and Deep Tissue massage. Swedish massage is the most common form of massage. It's the one that we think of, when somebody says, I am going to get a massage. Swedish massage is good for a variety of reasons. It helps to induce relaxation, decreases stress and enhances circulation. Swedish massage is often comprised of long gliding strokes and short rhythmic strokes. Deep Tissue massage on the other hand is exactly what it sounds like. It's the massage therapist getting greater and deeper access to the muscle to restore balance to an injured area. Deep Tissue massage is often sought out by athletes and those who are physically active with their bodies, that is because, they often sustain chronic injuries that are more deeply set within the muscle. The massage therapist needs to get the deeper layers to address those chronic patterns. Those are the two most common forms of massage therapy that you will encounter from our AMTA massage therapists. Next, I will discuss some other forms of massage therapy.

Sports massage is often sought out up by athletes. It is comprised of pre-event and post event massage. Pre-event massage will be utilized to stimulate the athlete to perform, and post event will help alleviate any muscle cramps or spasms that they have gotten from their event. The next technique is pregnancy massage. Often times a pregnant women will hesitate receiving massage, because they are worried about being comfortable on the massage table. Massage therapists are equipped with the variety of tools to help ensure your comfort. It's very important to help your body maintain good health throughout the pregnancy for both you and your child. The final technique I will discuss is Chair massage. Chair massage is great, because it allows massage therapy to be in a variety of settings. A massage therapist can actually bring his or her chair to almost anywhere to help reduce your stress and increase productivity. It's typically a fully clothed massage and the therapist can work almost any part of your body by just sitting on a comfortable massage chair. These are three unique massage techniques that you may encounter with your AMTA massage therapists. Now let's discuss the benefits of massage therapy.