Introduction to Chair Massage

"Massage and stretch the short, contracted muscles 2 to 4 times as much as the long ones. The long muscles need to be massaged and lightly stretched because they are ischemic and, due to the constant overload, often harbor trigger points. They are usually the muscles the client feels their pain in. Massage and stretch them to restore circulation and eliminate any trigger points. This brings the client relief and they have the sense you are attending to their complaint. However, in doing this, you are just addressing the symptoms, not the cause of their problem. To address the cause and bring them longer lasting relief, you should address the short, contracted muscles on the other side of the joint and work to relax and lengthen them. If you treat both sides of the joint equally, you will not change the relative position of the joint or the tone of the muscles. You will just relax both sides. Once the client stands up, they will be in their same posture as before you started and possibly, by relaxing the already long muscles, you will allow the short, tightened muscles to pull them farther into distortion. This is why it is recommended to treat the shortened muscles 2 to 4 times as much as the long muscles, significantly relaxing and lengthening the short muscles, allowing the client to stand up into a more correct posture." from Therapeutic Chair Massage (2006), by Ralph R. Stephens, p. 54