our news
28
July
by Lena AshfordWhy hot stone therapy eases chronic tension
Chronic tension — the kind that sits in your shoulders and neck for weeks, not hours — usually doesn't respond well to a single hard-pressure session. The muscle tends to guard against sudden deep pressure, which is exactly the problem hot stone massage is built to solve.
The heated basalt stones do two things at once: they raise the surface temperature of the muscle enough that it relaxes and lets go, and they let the therapist work more deeply with less discomfort than a cold-hands deep-tissue pass would require. For clients who've tried deep tissue and found it too intense, hot stone is often the better entry point.
We typically recommend it for anyone carrying stress in a specific, stubborn spot — between the shoulder blades is the most common one we see — rather than as a full-body relaxation treatment, though it works well as that too if that's what you're after.
2 comments
Jordan Pierce
This explains why my usual deep tissue guy suggested I try hot stone instead. Makes a lot more sense now.
Marcus Webb
The bit about the muscle 'guarding' against sudden pressure is such a good explanation for why some massages leave you sorer than when you walked in.