In a previous article, we discussed the history and origins of Swedish Massage. In it, we explained that the name Swedish was misnomer that arose due to translation mix-ups. Per Henrik Ling, a Swedish medical pioneer and founder of the Swedish Gymnastics system, often gets credited with inventing the modality. However, the actual inventor of Swedish Massage is Johann Georg Mezger, a Dutch physician who was noted for studying French massage techniques and their effects on physical healing.
It was Mezger, not Ling, who codified the five massage techniques that form the foundation for Swedish Massage.
In this article, we will discuss the five techniques of Swedish Massage.
Swedish Massage begins with a set of stroking movements known as effleurage. Effleurage is a French word that means to lightly touch or to skim. This technique consists of a series of long, gliding or circular massage strokes that is applied using different degrees of pressure.
Effleurage is applied to a patient’s body to loosen muscular knots and to release tension. It is performed at the beginning of a massage therapy session to warm-up the muscles and at the end of it, to soothe them out.
The amount of pressure that is applied with each stroke varies upon the needs of the patient. Generally speaking, there are 3 general approaches to applying effleurage:
After the muscles have been warmed up with the effleurage strokes, the next technique that follows is petrissage. Petrissage comes from the French word pétrir, which means “to knead.” The technique generally applied by manually compressing soft tissues of an area through rhythmic kneading, squeezing, and/or rolling.
These movements are particularly useful for stretching and loosening tense muscles, which also aids in improving blood circulation and helps to detoxify the body.
While there are many approaches to applying petrissage, the four most common are:
Because petrissage can be applied in many different ways and with varying degrees of pressure, it offers many therapeutic benefits to patients with tense or injured muscles. As such, petrissage usually takes up the majority of the time in a Swedish Massage Therapy session.
In Swedish Massage, Friction refers to a firm and focused rubbing technique that is applied to a specific area, usually using just the fingers or thumbs. Compression is often applied in a circular rhythm (Circular Friction) or in perpendicular rhythm (Transverse Friction).
The combination of precision and pressure makes Friction ideal for softening and realigning tense muscle fibers and for treating particular joints, such the elbow.
As the name suggest, the vibration technique is applied by rhythmically shaking an area of the body to loosen and relax the body. The intensity and pressure of the technique depend on the area of the body that is being treating, but it can performed in many ways, such as using both palms across a large area, such as the back or the fingers on small and sensitive area, such as the face. It is especially useful for soothing nerves and treating areas with lots of scar tissue.
Tapotement is a French word that means to tap or to drum. This technique consist of applying rhythmic tapping across patient’s body. The tapping sensations are used to stimulate the flow of blood and endorphins in body. As such, tapotement is particularly useful for relaxing tight muscles and for draining lymphatic build up.
The amount of pressure or force used in tapotement varies on the needs of the patient, but there are five common approaches to applying tapotement:
Now that you know what a Swedish Massage actually is and know about its five techniques, you’re probably wondering what the specific health benefits of Swedish Massage are. While these techniques sound good in theory, what does the science say about their effectiveness? In our next article, we will analyze the health benefits of Swedish Massage by analyzing peer-reviewed studies.
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