Stillpoint vs. Relax and Rehab - What’s the Difference?

When I created my core massage services, the Stillpoint and Relax & Rehab massages, my goal was to structure them so that clients would choose the one they want based on an intention and outcomes rather than the desired amount of pressure. Because let’s face it, most people have been trained to think of Swedish massage as being the one with lighter pressure and deep tissue massage as being the one with harder pressure. And in my experience, when someone asks me if I do deep tissue, the question they are really asking is “can you press really hard so you can break up all my knots?”.

Here’s where the disconnect happens. I know that I do deep tissue because I reach deeper structures through slow application, sustained pressure, proper positioning, and patient tissue loading. But that doesn’t always translate as deep tissue to the client because it might not feel like I’m pushing hard enough or inflicting enough pain to be effective.

Current pain science suggests that many massage effects are mediated through the nervous system rather than physically deforming soft tissue or breaking up adhesions in the way people once imagined. There is a sweet spot where pressure needs to be firm enough to engage the pressure receptors in the skin and deeper tissues so as to create a therapeutic response, but not so intense that it causes guarding, excessive pain, or tissue irritation.

I hope you’re starting to understand why pressure doesn’t differentiate these 2 services. The way for massage to be beneficial in achieving your goals is to effectively communicate with the nervous system. What’s considered “perfect therapeutic pressure” varies from person to person so essentially light, medium, or firm pressure could be used in either the Stillpoint or Relax & Rehab massages.

This is the part where you’re probably saying to yourself "get to the freaking point and tell me what the difference is already”. OK! Here we go.

The Stillpoint massage is meant to be a general (relaxation) type of massage where the techniques are simple, you don’t have a major pain or injury complaint and therefore won't have a comprehensive intake/assessment consultation outside of the general health questions. This is a good massage choice for managing symptoms related to stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, cancer treatment (as approved by your doctor), and other chronic health conditions not related to soft tissue dysfunction.

The Relax & Rehab massage is meant to be a treatment (therapeutic) type of massage where a greater variety of techniques and tools are used to achieve outcomes related to soft tissue recovery or pain management. This is the right massage for dealing with issues such as plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, stiff neck, headaches, hip pain, shoulder pain, limited range of motion, etc. Or if you’re someone who doesn’t necessarily have a nagging pain or injury but usually gets deep tissue massage for maintenance, this is the one for you.

There you have it. I hope this guide is helpful in choosing the right massage for you. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out. I am happy to talk further!