Each massage is different and what is done depends on one's individual needs and preferences. Therapeutic massage should be driven by client needs and assessment rather than technique. However below are some examples of techniques often incorporated.
Deep Tissue:
Firm or deep pressure is applied with the focus of reducing muscle hypertonicity, increasing mobility and relaxation.
Trigger Point Release:
Trigger Points(Trps) aka "muscle knots" are small tender points found within muscle tissue. They often have characteristic pain-referral patterns and can cause pain and movement dysfunction. Treatment of them usually consists of techniques of static pressure and waiting for them to soften/release, causing the entire muscle to relax somewhat. They are a common component of many injuries and chronic pain. Many people see there to be relation and overlap with trigger points and acupoints.
Myofascial Techniques:
Techniques which target the fascia, or connective tissue; the body-wide tensional-webbing that holds one's body together and is an important component of structure, movement and a lot of soft tissue pain and dysfunction.
Percussive/Vibrational Therapy:
The use of a high-powered massage gun(Theragun) to reduce muscle tightness/increase mobility.
Myofascial Cupping:
Suction cups are used to increase mobility and release areas of adhesion between muscles and fascia. Cups decompress/pull tissues upwards, instead of the downwards pressure which most manual therapies use. They can be placed statically or with movement. Often several cups will be used statically to treat one area of the body while massage is applied to another area. For the massage therapist it's kind of like having an extra set of hands.
Fascilitated Stretching:
Also called PNF(proprioceptive neuromuscular fascilitation) is stretching that utilizes muscular reflexes. Often by having the recipient contract their muscles against or with a stretch for short periods of time in order to optimize range of motion gained.
Intra-Oral TMJ techniques:
It has been shown that up to 75% of the population will experience jaw pain or dysfunction at some point in their lives, and it is understood that most related pain is muscle based. Functionally, the jaw has important connections to the posture and structure of the rest of the body, yet it often is left un-treated. A lot of the time this is due to the fact that tension and dysfunction of the jaw may present as other symptoms such as neck pain, headaches, toothaches, or even tinnitus. Careful intra-oral massage with gloves, performed by a trained technician can be very effective in managing or relieving this pain and dysfunction.