Massage Therapy: What's What?

By Cameron Sinclaire

We could all use a massage, every single one of us -- but whether it’s your first time or your hundredth, sometimes we don’t always know what type is right for our specific needs. At Melanie’s Day Spa, we offer five types of massage: relaxation, therapeutic, prenatal, deep tissue, and hot stone. Each treatment has its own benefits.

Relaxation Massage: 

Our full-body relaxation massage is light to medium pressure focused on relaxation. This type of massage helps to revive and rejuvenate you, relieving muscular tension and improving circulation. There is no focus work in this massage, instead, the massage therapist will massage the whole body evenly. If you’re looking for a soft, gentle massage that avoids depth that may cause discomfort, then this is the massage for you! 

Benefits: 

  • Reduces stress and increases relaxation 

  • Reduces pain and muscles soreness/tension

  • Improves circulation, energy, and alertness

  • Lowers heart rate and blood pressure

  • Improves immune function 

Therapeutic Massage: 

The therapeutic massage is similar to the relaxation massage with light to medium pressure. However, this massage does include focus work. If there is a specific area that is causing you discomfort, let your massage therapist know so that they can work to ease the muscular tension in that spot.

Benefits: 

  • Focuses on specific parts of the body that are causing discomfort 

  • Reduces stress and increases relaxation 

  • Reduces pain and muscles soreness/tension

  • Improves circulation, energy, and alertness

  • Lowers heart rate and blood pressure

  • Improves immune function 

Pre-Natal Massage: 

The pre-natal massages are for those who are pregnant. This massage is adapted for the anatomical changes you go through during pregnancy and is meant to reduce stress hormones and relax/loosen your muscles. Our trained and professional massage therapists will deliver a tailored and unique prenatal massage to fit your needs and facilitate deep relaxation. 


Benefits: 

  • Improves sleep quality 

  • Helps with neck and back pain

  • Lessens sciatica nerve pain

  • Reduces swelling in your hands and feet

  • Prevents headaches and sinus congestion

  • Decreases joint pain

  • Reduces carpal tunnel pain

  • Helps with leg cramping

** If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of a Pre-Natal Massage, click here to read our blog post! 

Deep Tissue Massage: 

A deep tissue massage focuses on stripping away scar tissue and manipulating sore, fatigued muscles. Our massage therapists use deep strokes and heavy pressure by using elbows and knuckles to warm up the muscles.

Benefits: 

  • Rehabilitates injured muscles

  • Reduces arthritis symptoms

  • Breaks up scar tissue and makes movement easier

  • Lowers blood pressure and heart rate

  • Reduces pain

  • Relieves stress 

**This treatment is not recommended for a first-time massage or those in acute pain. 

Hot Stone Massage: 

Our hot stone massage, as the name suggests, involves the use of heated stones. We place the stones on specific spots of your body to help aid balance and flow. Massage techniques include kneading, long, smooth strokes, and rolling. The stones allow your therapist to get deeper into the muscles without more pressure, and help you further relax. 

Benefits: 

  • Helps relieve muscle tension and pain

  • Reduces stress and anxiety 

  • Promotes sleep

** This treatment is not recommended for those who are pregnant or clients with high blood pressure.

Melanie SInclaire