Deep Tissue - Anterior Legs

[jenineschatz]

I've been doing a lot of deep tissue work lately and would be interested to know what techniques some of the others here use when working on the anterior legs. I typically use fists and forearms while working on the quadriceps and my palm, forearms, and thumbs on the tibialis anterior.

I usually end up working from origin to insertion on the quads, but more often than not from insertion to origin on the the tibialis anterior. I recall that in some of the deep tissue classes I have taken, the instructors have said that the direction I do the deep tissue work in really doesn't matter. I'm curious to know if anyone else has some different thoughts about this.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[TheAwakening]

Deep Tissue - Anterior Legs

Work on the quads can be tricky. As you know the muscles tend to move around a lot there. I tend to hold them with one hand while I do my work with the other or use a palm or fist to stablize the muscle while I work into it, compression and then friction in one direction toward the stablized part where I am holding - if you get what I am saying.

Personally, I don't like the feeling (from the client perspective) of any type of heavy draining stroke on the quads. The feeling of the muscles getting smashed against the bone is just too weird a feeling and it's uncomfortable for me. So I don't do it to clients either. I do like a praying hands type of draining stroke though or draining in strips with the lightest pressure in the middle part of the leg just over the rectus femoris.

 

[Top_Gear_Biggest_Fan]

Deep Tissue - Anterior Legs

I like the praying hand also amd I use palm or fist along the I-T band by sinking my elbow into MY hip to give a steady preasure going from inset to orig

 

[joeben7]

Deep Tissue - Anterior Legs

In the Waslaski intensive I learned that he uses work from origin to insertion when the muscle/s need lengthening and I to O when they just need to relax. Anyway, you're in my area, if you want you can give me a call and I'll show you some of the Meyers fascial work and Waslaski stuff for the anterior low leg and quads that will be easier for me to show you (personally) than explain using words. I can also show you some other things, active release type work gets into the area deeper than just using massage.

 

[Samantha Paranoia]

Deep Tissue - Anterior Legs

When the quads are cranky, I always check the hip flexors. Most of the time, the hip flexors are cranky too. I settle those down quickly and virtually painlessly with positional release and possibly some fascial work. Afterwards, the quads are usually much more malleable and respond well to positional release and other more common massage techniques. Trigger point and cross fiber friction can be applied with little discomfort too, if needed. I rarely need more than a light-to-moderate level of pinpoint pressure. I don't recall the last time I had to exert myself to get the quads to settle down. Tibialis anterior also responds well to similar methods.

If I'm short on time and don't have the luxury of being thorough, I may apply some Muscle Release Techniques (aka RUIT) to either or both areas. It doesn't take long, but I feel it requires more effort and my results with it are less satisfactory to me. I have not noticed any particular advaneforum.xxxes to working I-to-O or O-to-I. I also like using Active Isolated Stretching as appropriate, and often teach clients some simple techniques they can use for self-care. AIS provides an efficient method of neuromuscular re-education for the affected areas, which is critical to quickly overcoming long-term, chronic problems.

 

[iTz dEE]

Deep Tissue - Anterior Legs

Completely agree! And for the lateral quads, IT band and even the lat low leg, you can create relief by working the glut med/min. In fact, when It comes to the ITB, it will only loosen after working the glut med/min and TFL. As far as lengthening shortened muscles it's better to check and make sure they are really short and need the deeper work. If one side is short and the other is fine, doing the same work to both sides equally won't help much. And I'm writing about hip/leg pain, not a general relaxing type of massage.

 

[Erik Van Thienen]

Deep Tissue - Anterior Legs

Thanks for all of the replies everyone.

In the Waslaski intensive I learned that he uses work from origin to insertion when the muscle/s need lengthening and I to O when they just need to relax. Anyway, you're in my area, if you want you can give me a call and I'll show you some of the Meyers fascial work and Waslaski stuff for the anterior low leg and quads that will be easier for me to show you (personally) than explain using words. I can also show you some other things, active release type work gets into the area deeper than just using massage.

Thanks for the offer kathryn. You will be hearing from soon about scheduling another appointment with you.