Swedish massage is the first type of massage that got widespread recognition. It is shown to improve blood flow, remove toxins from the muscles, induce relaxation.
It’s often called relaxation massage, and it does release muscle tension, but that is general tension, not the specific, deep muscle contraction that causes stiffness and pain.
Typically it’s a full-body massage, making you feel you’re cared for and, for many, it’s the loving touch they are missing.
The Functional Muscle Manipulation has the above effects but goes much further:
It convinces the body that it doesn’t need to hold on to its subconscious defense patterns that keep it chronically tight.
Whereas Swedish Massage is a pleasurable and helpful habit, the FMM is actual therapy.

The Functional Muscle Manipulation actually started as an advanced form of Deep Tissue massage. George Rodafinos felt that the original technique was unnecessarily aggressive.
* Most Deep Tissue practitioners work mechanically. But the chronic muscle contraction is a defense mechanism, which makes it a functional, not a structural problem.
* Most will ask you if you prefer mild, medium or intense pressure. But they don’t connect to your body’s responses, as to adjust each stroke according to it’s reactions.
* The idea which Deep Tissue teaches, that those “knots” are scar tissue that needs to be broken, is absurd. Scar tissue doesn’t feel anything, it’s dead tissue. But the client suffers when they work there. That is because they actually break muscle fibers.
* The challenging dilemma a therapist faces with Deep Tissue is: If I go too hard, the client contracts. How can I help them release when I make them contract?
If I don’t go hard enough, their body doesn’t give at all, and I can’t reach any deeper than the superficial muscle layers.
* The Functional Muscle Manipulation talks to the body, instead of waging a war against it.
Going slow, it brings results faster. The body “opens up”, so the therapist goes deeper, without pain, and heals the deeper layers, the core of the problem.
The FMM typically has full, long lasting results.

Thai massage aims to restore the flow of a form of energy in the body.
The Functional Muscle Manipulation works on the chronic defensive patterns that the autonomic nervous system builds in the body as a response to repetitive fight or flight reactions.
The FMM convinces the body that it doesn’t have to hold on to those chronic defensive patterns. It can have long term results.

Most people use the terms trigger point massage therapy, neuromuscular massage and myofascial therapy without much distinction.
Although there is no scientific clarity of what ‘trigger points’ are, some feel better after pressure on them during massage.
The Functional Muscle Manipulation has a few different understandings:
* Chronically contracted muscles, muscle “knots” or muscle spasms are not dysfunctional or scarred muscles.
* The FMM doesn’t try to break scar tissue. It doesn’t try to force muscles to soften up.
* It doesn’t matter if there are myofascial adhesions or not.
* Chronic muscle spasms are a defensive function that the autonomic nervous system considers necessary for survival.
We understand that therapy is to negotiate with the autonomic nervous system, restore its trust in life and show it that it can function without hurting the muscles and causing nerve inflammation and even joint inflammation.
When we release sympathetic tension in an area of the body, trigger points soften up, there is no sign of fascia tension, but muscle pain and neuropathies calm down and joints function better.

Sports massage is a valuable technique for athletes and people working out. It uses deep, long strokes to improve circulation, help remove toxins and produce endorphins that lower post work-out pain.
What is wrong with the typical sports massage is the idea that the more pain the recipient can take, the better the result. We couldn’t disagree more.
The painful intrusion causes the body to contract to protect itself. We actually need the opposite effect.
Healing happens when the body trusts the process and releases its tightness.
The Functional Sports Massage that we’re practicing respects the body’s defensiveness and convinces it that it’s safe to release and heal. With long term treatment, you get traumatized less and heal better.