Swedish Massage
Swedish massage
There are five basic elements to a Swedish massage:
Effleurage – long flowing strokes that encourage relaxation and improve circulation. Effleurage also warms up the tissue and stimulates the body’s lymphatic system.
Petrissage – using medium-depth pressure, the tissue is manipulated using kneading, compression, stretching, lifting and rolling. Petrissage further increases circulation, relieves muscle tension and can be effective at freeing up movement in muscle tissue.
Friction – a deep technique that generates heat to soften the tissue. It can be applied along the length of the muscle fibres to stretch and lengthen, or against the direction fibres or in small circles to break down areas of tension.
Tapotement – a percussive technique where the hand action is rhythmically applied to the area being worked on. Fingers, cupped hands or soft fists may be used. Tapotement is a stimulating technique used for energising effect; it stimulates the circulatory and nervous systems.
Vibration – rocking and shaking techniques that can be used in a variety of ways. Rocking the whole body gently can be a calming, relaxing way to begin a massage, whereas short, vigorous vibrations to an area such as the sacrum can be a great way to loosen up the area and increase range of movement. Vibration can also be used in combination with effleurage to really loosen up the muscles and prepare them for deeper work.
My approach when providing a Swedish massage is to first use some gentle compression over the sheet on the area I’m about to work on. I find it’s a good way of signalling intent and acclimatising the client to my touch. I then use effleurage to warm up the area and also to asses what’s going on with the body. I try and gain as much information as possible from these initial strokes and this will determine how the rest of the massage progresses. I don’t believe in following a set routine and I will use whichever techniques I think are most suitable according to the unique body that I’m working on.