You may have found yourself wondering how a massage differs when administered at a spa versus in a clinical setting. After all, they both involve someone applying pressure to your body, right? Well, although they do share that similarity, there are many important distinctions between the two. It’s also essential to understand those differences for your own health and wellbeing.
As you might have guessed, the key differences are mostly in the purpose of the massage, but also the reasons that a person might be seeking one type of massage over the other. The end goal of the massages might differ greatly as well.
While a spa massage might feel similar to clinical in some ways, because the purposes of these two massage types differ, the types of techniques used will also differ. During a spa visit, you typically will get a regular, Swedish Massage that’s more basic and centers on your relaxation. However, during a medical massage, we here at 360 Massage and Holistic Care will use a broader set of modalities, such as Trigger Point Therapy or Myofascial Release, to offer aid in muscle health recovery.
On the topic of techniques, another factor where the two types of massage differ is how your session is planned based on your individual needs. Consider how a longtime runner might seek out a medical massage to deal with a difficult injury during their year. At the same time, someone who’s been in a car accident may have completely different needs due to whiplash. Because of these differences, we will approach your visits with your specific needs in mind. Although a typical spa therapist has been trained in massage, we have received additional training and experience that allows us to provide advanced care for your health.
Finally, you will also find a difference in the suggested frequency of your massage visits. Because there is a targeted plan during your medical massage treatment, you’ll have a goal that’s based around a healthy outcome and includes a series of timed visits versus a sporadic spa visit. A medical massage factors into a larger plan to improve specific medical challenges you may be facing. Because tangible results are what is expected with medical massage, we are a team of elite massage professionals, skilled in the necessary aspects of medical massage.
