The Swedish Massage Techniques
We have discussed the history and origin of the Swedish massage, explaining the confusion surrounding the real creator of this massage style. We have also explained the massage style and how it works. Now we will take a closer look at the five techniques that make up this massage style.
These five massage techniques form the foundation for Swedish massage as codified by Mezger and not Ling. It will give you a better understanding of what is involved in a Swedish massage. 부천 1 인샵
The five techniques include:
- Effleurage
- Petrissage
- Friction
- Vibration
- Tapotement
- Effleurage
swedish massage effleurage technology
Swedish massage usually starts with a set of stroking movements know as effleurage. Effleurage is a French word that translates to ‘lightly touch or to skim.’ This technique comprises a sequence of long, gliding, or circular massage strokes applied by using different degrees of pressure.
Effleurage is applied to a patient’s body to help to loosen muscular knots and also release tensions. It is usually carried out at the beginning of a massage therapy session to warm up the muscles and also at the end to relieve pain. The degree of pressure that is applied with each stroke solely depends on the needs of the patient.
In general, there are three common ways of applying effleurage. These include:
Feather or Nerve Stroking:
It is the lightest of the effleurage approaches. This method consists of applying very light fingertip pressure throughout the body surface. It focuses on generating relaxation and does not have much effect on the neuromuscular system. As such, feather stroking is not commonly used during a typical massage therapy session, albeit it is often utilized for head massages.
Superficial Effleurage:
This is the most common approach to using effleurage. It is carried out at the beginning of a massage to apply oil and warm up the body’s muscles and tissues. The therapist uses an open palm to perform the strokes across a wide area of the body with changes in the amount of pressure applied to promote blood circulation.
Deeper Effleurage:
This approach is similar to superficial effleurage but uses more pressure on particular areas of the body, focusing on tense and heavily knotted areas.
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Petrissage
After the warming up process has been completed using the effleurage strokes, the next technique is the petrissage. Petrissage is derived from the French word ‘pétrir,’ which means to “to knead.” This technique is applied by manually compressing soft tissues of an area through rhythmic, squeezing, or rolling. These movements are specifically useful for stretching and loosening tense muscles, which aids in improving blood circulation and also helps in detoxifying the body.
Although there are numerous approaches to applying petrissage, the four most common are:
Kneading:
The most common approach of the petrissage technique is kneading. The motions are often compared to those a baker makes in the process of kneading dough. This method is applied by lifting the soft tissues of an area, squeezing it, and then rolling it back in a slow and circularly rhythmic fashion, using both palms. The amount of pressure applied varies, but kneading is particularly useful for the penetration of deep muscle.