Massage Therapy: What It Is, How It Works, and What to Expect
What Is Massage Therapy?
Massage therapy is one of the oldest forms of hands-on care in human history. Long before modern medicine, people relied on touch to support healing, comfort, and connection. Across cultures and centuries, massage has been used as a way to restore balance, ease physical strain, and support the body’s natural capacity to adapt.
Today, massage therapy in Ontario is a regulated health profession. Registered Massage Therapists (RMTs) complete extensive education in anatomy, physiology, pathology, and human movement, along with supervised clinical training. This foundation allows RMTs to assess the body and apply massage therapy techniques in a safe, informed, and individualized way.
Modern massage therapy focuses on supporting soft tissue function, physical comfort, and nervous system regulation. Sessions are adapted to each client’s presentation, goals, and response to care.
Common Misunderstandings About Massage Therapy
One of the most common misconceptions about massage therapy is that it’s limited to relaxation or general stress relief.
While relaxation can be an important part of the experience, massage therapy education covers a wide range of musculoskeletal and neurological considerations. RMTs are trained to work with a variety of soft tissue presentations and movement-related concerns, and to adapt care appropriately for different populations.
Massage therapy education includes learning how to safely work with presentations such as:
Postural and movement-related strain
Soft tissue tension patterns
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction
Tension-related headaches
Sports-related strains and sprains
Postural adaptations such as hyperlordosis
Conditions affecting the lower extremities, including plantar fasciitis and shin splints
Clients recovering from injury or surgery
Individuals living with chronic or autoimmune conditions
In other words, massage therapy is far more than “just putting lotion on muscles.” It is a clinically informed practice that requires careful assessment, communication, and professional judgment.
Who Tends to Benefit Most From Massage Therapy?
In practice, the people who tend to experience the greatest benefit from massage therapy are those who attend consistently.
Regular massage therapy allows individuals to develop a deeper awareness of their own body — how different areas feel, how tension patterns change over time, and how lifestyle factors such as training, work, and stress influence physical comfort. This ongoing awareness helps clients communicate more clearly with their therapist and participate more actively in their own care.
Consistency also allows the therapist to better understand how a client responds to treatment and to adapt sessions accordingly. Over time, this collaborative process can support a stronger sense of interoception — the ability to notice internal bodily sensations — and a more informed relationship with one’s own movement and physical well-being.
What Happens During a Massage Therapy Session?
During a massage therapy session, clients often gain new insights into their body.
As the therapist works, areas of increased tension or sensitivity may become noticeable — sometimes in places the client wasn’t previously aware of. Changes in tissue tone, texture, or mobility can often be felt during treatment, and clients may notice differences in range of motion or ease of movement.
Massage therapy can also have a calming effect, helping some clients enter a deeply relaxed, meditative state. After a session, it’s common to feel a sense of lightness, improved posture awareness, or an increased ability to breathe more fully. These experiences vary from person to person and session to session, and are considered normal responses to care.
Why Massage Therapy Feels Different for Everyone
No two massage therapy sessions feel the same — even for the same person.
How someone experiences massage therapy can depend on many factors, including recent physical activity, stress levels, resting muscle tone, and individual sensitivity. For example, tissue that feels comfortable to work on one week may feel more sensitive after a particularly demanding workout, while at other times deeper pressure may feel supportive and beneficial.
Over time, clients often develop a clearer sense of what types of pressure and techniques feel most appropriate for them. For some people, massage therapy feels relaxing right away; for others, it may take several sessions before the body begins to fully settle into the experience. All of these responses are normal and part of the process.
