Deep tissue massage — also called sport massage — works the deeper layers of muscle and the fascia around them, using slower strokes and firmer, more sustained pressure to release tight tissue and restore range of movement. It is available in 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes at both spas.
It is also the treatment people book for the wrong reasons more often than any other, usually on the theory that if a normal massage is good, a harder one must be better. It is not that simple, and the difference matters if you train.
When deep tissue genuinely helps
- Chronic tightness that has been building for months — calves, hip flexors, upper back, the classic runner's and cyclist's complaints
- Restricted range of movement where nothing is injured but nothing quite moves freely either
- Between training blocks, when you have volume to recover from and no event in the immediate future
- Physically demanding work — trades, hospitality, nursing, anything with repeated loading. If it is your lower back that takes the hit, our guide to massage for lower back pain compares the options.
When it is the wrong call
- Within 48 hours of a race or event. Firm work can leave you slightly sore and slightly less coordinated for a day. Do not do this to yourself before a start line.
- On an acute injury. A fresh strain, tear or sprain needs assessment, not pressure. The NHS advice on sprains and strains is to avoid massage for the first couple of days. See a physiotherapist or GP first.
- When you are already exhausted and stressed. A depleted nervous system does not want more intensity. Book aromatherapy or hot stone instead and come back for deep tissue in a fortnight.
- As a first-ever massage, usually. Start at medium and find out what your body tolerates before going firm.
"The best deep tissue session is the one where you keep breathing normally the whole way through. If you are gripping the table, we are not achieving anything."
Siri therapist team
How to time it around training
- Race or event day minus 5 to 7 days — the last window for firm work. Anything closer, go lighter.
- Race day minus 1 to 2 — light or medium work only, if anything. Swedish massage is the better booking here.
- The day after a hard event — light and short. Your legs are still recovering; this is not the moment to dig.
- Two to four days after — the sweet spot for deep tissue. The acute soreness has passed and the tightness has revealed itself.
- Off-season or base phase — the ideal time to work through long-standing problem areas properly, at 90 minutes rather than 60.
That is the event version. If you train most weeks rather than towards one race, our guide to massage before or after a workout covers the week-to-week rhythm.
How to get more out of the session
Deep tissue is the treatment where guest input matters most:
- Be specific and physical. "Left glute and down the outside of the thigh, worse after running" is a briefing. "My legs are sore" is not.
- Book 90 minutes if you have more than two problem areas. Sixty minutes covers the body once. It does not cover the body once and then go back.
- Breathe out as the therapist works into a tight spot. This genuinely helps, and it is the same principle covered in our guide to massage pressure.
- Ask for the aftercare. Two stretches you will actually do beat ten you will not.
How sore will you be after deep tissue?
Some tenderness the next day is normal after firm work — a dull, bruised-feeling ache in the areas that were tightest, much like the day after a new kind of workout. It usually settles within a day or two, and it should feel as if it is easing, not building.
What helps: drink water, keep moving gently — a walk is better than the couch — and leave hard training until the ache has gone, which is exactly why the timing above matters. A light stretch of the worked areas in the evening is fine; forcing a stretch through tenderness is not.
What is not normal: sharp or stabbing pain, swelling, visible bruising, numbness or pins and needles, or soreness that is worse on day three than on day one. Tell us, and if it does not settle, see your GP or a physiotherapist.
And if you need to be fully functional tomorrow — a race, a long-haul flight, a heavy shift — say so when you arrive. Your therapist can work at a firmness that leaves you looser without leaving you sore. Firm is a tool, not a target.
The honest limitation
Deep tissue massage is not a diagnosis and it is not physiotherapy. It cannot tell you whether that hip is a tight glute or something structural, and it will not rehabilitate a torn muscle. If you have pain that wakes you at night, pain radiating down a limb, numbness, pins and needles, swelling, or a problem that has been steadily worsening for weeks, see a physiotherapist, sports doctor or GP first. Come to us for the tissue work alongside the rehab — that combination works very well. On its own, it is a gamble.
Also tell us when you book if you take blood thinners, bruise easily, have osteoporosis or varicose veins, are pregnant, or have had recent surgery — all of these change what pressure is safe. If you are not sure whether firm work suits you, check with your GP, midwife or specialist first.
Prices
- Viaduct, Auckland CBD — 30 mins $65 · 60 mins $115 · 90 mins $165 · 120 mins $220
- St Heliers — 30 mins $60 · 60 mins $105 · 90 mins $145 · 120 mins $195
If firm work is not what you need this week, our side-by-side comparison of Thai massage and deep tissue will help you choose something better suited — and our frequency guide covers how to time massage across a training year.
Common questions
At least five to seven days. Firmer work can leave you mildly sore and slightly less coordinated for a day or two, which is not what you want on a start line. Two days out, book something light instead.
Viaduct: $65 for 30 minutes, $115 for 60, $165 for 90, $220 for 120. St Heliers: $60, $105, $145 and $195.
It should have a strong, satisfying ache — not pain that makes you hold your breath. If you are bracing against the therapist, the pressure has gone past useful. Some tenderness the next day is normal and usually settles within a day or two.
No. For a fresh strain, tear or sprain, or for pain with numbness or tingling, see a physiotherapist or GP first — and avoid massage on a fresh injury for the first couple of days. Massage works well alongside rehabilitation, not instead of it.
