Andrew Sague Massage

Deep Tissue Massage: Myths and Reality

Deep Tissue Massage remains one of the most popular types of massage, yet many people do not clearly understand the difference between Deep Tissue Massage and simply a massage with deep pressure. This confusion is sometimes seen even among massage therapists.

The scientific literature does not provide a clear definition of Deep Tissue Massage. There is still no consensus on what exactly it does, how to determine when it is needed, or how it should be applied most effectively.

In practice, many clients who ask for Deep Tissue Massage are actually looking for something quite different: a relaxing massage with deeper pressure in selected areas.

The history of Deep Tissue Massage, its connection to Myofascial Release, common misconceptions, scientific criticism, and practical advice for choosing a massage therapist are discussed in the new article.

About Deep Tissue Massage What is Deep Tissue Massage? Learn about its history, myofascial concepts, criticism, practical value, and how to choose a massage therapist.

NO TIPS PLEASE

One question my clients occasionally ask is whether a tip is expected after a massage treatment.

The answer is simple: no.

At my massage clinic, the treatment fee is the final fee. I work hard to keep my rates reasonable and offer a variety of discounts and promotional offers throughout the year. Many clients pay less than the standard listed rate because of these savings opportunities. I do not add an expected gratuity to my pricing, and I do not expect clients to make up the difference with tips.

You are always welcome to ask about fees before your appointment begins. In fact, I encourage it. It is completely normal to discuss pricing in advance so that there are no surprises later.

The amount we agree on before the treatment is the amount you should pay afterward. Nothing more is expected.

Whether payment is made by credit card, debit card, e-transfer, or another method, please simply pay the treatment fee that was agreed upon.

If you would like to support my massage clinic, please don't leave a tip. Instead, consider referring a friend, recommending my services to family members, following my social media pages, engaging with my posts, or leaving a review. These actions help my business far more than gratuities. Referrals may also qualify you for additional discounts on future massage appointments.

Thank you for your trust and support.

You can find current discounts here https://andrewsague.com/massage-discounts.html

COMFORTABLE MASSAGE FOR ALL BODY TYPES
Many plus-size people avoid massage because they worry about comfort, positioning, or feeling self-conscious about their size.

At my Calgary SE massage clinic, treatments can be adapted to your individual needs. Extra pillows and side-lying positioning options are available when needed to help you stay comfortable throughout your session.

No judgment. No weight-loss advice. Just professional massage therapy focused on your comfort and treatment goals.

Book online:
https://andrewsague.com/book-online.html

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This is a real offer that allows you to try a professional massage completely free.
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METHODS OF DECEPTION IN PSEUDOMEDICINE
Pseudoscientific treatment methods rely on a variety of tricks to demonstrate their supposed effectiveness. Since their actual therapeutic effect does not exceed placebo, they desperately need some kind of “evidence” they can present to patients.

One of the simplest techniques can be conditionally called “treating a suddenly discovered disease.”

During an examination, the practitioner “detects” a certain pathology or syndrome that allegedly already threatens the patient’s health and will soon lead to serious consequences. Real symptoms are either ignored or partially reinterpreted as early manifestations of this newly discovered, dangerous condition.

Next comes a set of “therapeutic procedures”...
Continue reading

Deception in Pseudomedicine How pseudomedicine deceives patients through invented conditions and meaningless “treatments”.

A brief look at J. Walaski’s Clinical Massage Therapy.

The book presents itself as a serious clinical approach to musculoskeletal conditions. But when you try to apply the author’s recommendations, the same question keeps coming up: HOW?
Reading on.
P 20 Step 7: Cross Fiber Gliding Strokes / Trigger Point Therapy. The author says these are two different techniques performed in sequence. He also insists the work must stay within a pain free limit. But these structures are painful even under light palpation — as he himself notes earlier. So how do you increase pressure and still stay pain free? No answer.
Next, he suggests working along the taut band from origin to insertion. But trigger points are located exactly on these bands. What are we supposed to do with the trigger point itself? Jump over it? Go around it? Start from the other end? Again — no explanation.
In the end: even a small fragment of the book raises more questions than clarity.

More details:
https://andrewsague.com/articles/a-brief-look-at-j-walaskis-clinical-massage-therapy/

A FEW WORDS ABOUT TRIGGER POINTS

Many massage therapists treat the theory they learned in college as gospel — unquestionable, final, and beyond doubt. That's not quite the case. Many principles of modern massage theory are debatable, and some don't hold up to scrutiny at all.

Take trigger points. There's an enormous body of material on their diagnosis and treatment, where they often take center stage in explaining pain. The typical story goes like this: a skilled massage therapist eliminates in two minutes the pain a patient has lived with for ten years — pain that specialists of every stripe failed to touch. And remarkably, many people believe these stories. Including massage therapists themselves. And even physicians.

But let's go back to the source. Trigger point discussions invariably reference the books of Travell and Simons — dense, complex works that require a solid foundation in physiology and medicine to follow. Most massage therapists don't have that background and understandably get lost in the material.

On closer inspection, however, all that complexity turns out to be largely a retelling of standard medical physiology textbooks, in which trigger points do not feature at all. The theory lives in one place, the trigger points in another, connected by a couple of thin threads. In practice, all that theory mostly adds bulk and lends the books an air of serious scientific authority.

This was neatly illustrated by Steven Jurch (MA, ATC, LMT) of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston in his book Clinical Massage Therapy: Assessment And Treatment Of Orthopedic Conditions (2009). Jurch is a true believer — someone who places trigger points at the center of the pathogenesis of many musculoskeletal conditions — so accusing him of bias would be a stretch. And yet, after several decades of studying the subject, here is what he wrote:

"What happens to the muscle to cause a trigger point? Unfortunately, there is no gold standard for the pathology behind trigger points. The current etiology is known as the integrated hypothesis (Simons, 2004) because it combines two widely accepted theories."

In other words, plain and simple: after decades of research, mountains of books, and countless case studies, there is no scientific foundation for trigger points. The whole thing rests on a couple of unproven assumptions. That's it.

more articles in my blog:

Andrew Sague Massage Blog Multiple Conditions in Massage Therapy March 27, 2026 by Andrew A massage therapist should always keep in mind the possibility of several independent conditions occurring in the same area of the body. To make this clearer, let’s look at an example. A client comes to your clinic complaining of pain...

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