Compression is broad, 📝sustained pressure into tissue with the palm, forearm, or elbow.
Unlike a gliding stroke, the contact stays. In 📝Deep Tissue Massage it is how a layer is met without racing through it. The same method shows up in myofascial holds and in trigger-point work as a narrower, named form. Compression is a way of contacting tissue, not a diagnosis and not a claim that fluid has been squeezed out as a medical event. Pressure stays in a range the person can breathe through.
Clients feel a spreading weight rather than a rub. If the tissue braces, the pace or the depth is too much — back off, wait, or warm the surface first. Sharp, numb, or panicky sensation is a stop.
Bruising is too much dose.