Remedial Massage is more than just rubbing muscles.
Remedial Massage is an assessment of the muscles, tendons, ligaments and the connective tissues within the body which aims to help manage rehabilitation, pain and injury. It attempts to iron out tension, discomfort and knots throughout the body using trigger point therapies, firm strokes and stretching techniques. Remedial massage can be specific to one particular area or it can be multiple areas. Time required for remedial massage is generally 1 hour however it does depend on how tense or painful the area(s) is.
Swedish massage or most commonly known as Relaxation massage which is what the majority of people think of when massage comes to mind. This technique is designed to relax the entire body through long, light strokes aiming to increase blood flow, decreasing muscle toxins, and increasing flexibility through the reduction of tension.
Deep Tissue Massage (DTM) is what most people believe remedial massage to be. DTM uses the same techniques and Swedish (Relaxation) Massage, however more pressure is used to target deep connective tissues that surround the muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. This type of massage aims to treat chronic muscle tension and can generally be very intense in regards to pressure.
Sports Massage is split into two kinds; Pre-event and post-event massage. Pre-event sports massage is light, quick compression and strokes which is typically done the night before or 2 hour before the event. These techniques increases blood flow to the muscles, decreasing pain and stiffness, increasing joint range of motion and reducing tissue hypertonicity. Post-event sports massage involves deep, slow compression and strokes to assist with muscle soreness, stretching the muscles, maintaining joint range of motion and assisting lymphatic drainage. This style of massage is done within several hours after the event.