The treatment is usually listed on a resort or day spa menu, and described as a massage that is deep in pressure, in comparison with a lighter Swedish Massage. This is not necessarily the case as there are many massage modalities that access deeper layers of tissue withough being deeper in pressure DNM is one such modalitiy. Deep Tissue massages in a spa setting are usually full-body treatments with emphasis on a few bothersome areas, with relaxation of muscle being the goal.
Deep Tissue massage also does not require any additional training or Certification from basic massage therapy education. Neuromuscular Therapy is a highly-specialized form of manual therapy that corrects pain and dysfunction by treating trigger points, muscle adhesions, and fascial connective tissue patterns.
These trigger points, adhesions and fascial patterns can form due to a specific trauma, postural pattern, or series of repetitive movements. Neuromuscular Therapy sessions utilize precise treatment protocols to correct these patterns by releasing tight fascia, palpating and decreasing trigger points in tight bands of muscle and releasing areas of stuck muscle in an effective and efficient manner.
The muscular areas of pain, and the surrounding muscles that are affected due to biomechanics and compensation for the primary pain are treated using these protocols. Neuromuscular treatments are rarely full-body; the work is concentrated on the primary and secondary areas of the body that are causing the pain you are experiencing, and limiting range of motion.
In order to specialize in Neuromuscular Therapy, a therapist must receive additional training beyond traditional massage therapy education. The training involves learning every trigger point commonly found in each muscle, their common referral zones, and biomechanical aspects of trigger point formation watching your gait and movements , as well as hands-on clinical application of all specific treatment protocols for each muscle and region.
