Swedish Massage Strokes

There are five categories of Swedish massage strokes.

They are:

Effleurage

Petrissage

Friction

Vibration

Tapotement

Effleurage means to glide or flow and is the first category in Swedish massage. Use effleurage to apply lubricant, whether oil, cream, lotion, or powder. This stroke is also used to get the client used to your touch.

Glide your fingers, hands or forearms over an area of the body, slowly, letting yourself sink down deep into the skin and the underlying muscles. Repeat this several times in the same area and follow the shape of your client's body with this stroke over the entire body part you are working on. This is a good stroke for palpating the tissue and feeling for any tightness in the muscles and soft tissues.

Effleurage moves lymph and blood and gets the soft tissues warmed up and prepared for additional strokes. Sometimes it is the only stroke you need to perform as a massage therapist to make a client's pain go away.

It is the stroke that not only starts a massage, but also ends it. Once all of the other Swedish massage strokes have been completed, you will once again perform this stroke to finish off the massage.

It can be performed with one hand or two. When working on the arms and legs, the most important thing to remember is to make sure the blood flows toward the heart and not away from it to promote venous blood flow. So you would start from the bottom of the area such as the foot or hand and move up to the next joint.

The second most important thing to remember about this stroke is to perform it slowly, allowing your fingers to sink down deep into the tissue. Really let the client feel it. Don't be rough. Just move slowly and deeply. It will really benefit the client that way.

The next of the Swedish massage strokes is petrissage, which means to knead. Grasp the soft tissue firmly in your hand and lift and squeeze, letting go, and grasping more tissue and repeating the process all the way across the body part. This is most effective on the tissues when it is done firmly and slowly. Repeat this several times using the same technique and then change to another variation of this type of stroke.

Everyone loves a good back massage. While I perform variations of this kneading stroke on the back during table massage, a good deal of my clients doze off.

Petrissage empties the soft tissues of waste and toxins and allows them to fill with freshly oxygenated blood to nourish them. This stroke also flattens and stretches the tissues.

There are several variations such as one or two-handed, fulling, and skin rolling to name a few.

Another of the Swedish massage strokes is friction. This comes from a Latin word that means to rub. It is also known as compression because you push down and squeeze the tissue together.

The compression stroke increases circulation and is good for massaging bony areas like the ankles, knees and the back of the neck, along with tendons and ligaments. This type of stroke includes superficial warming, deep compression, chucking wringing, rolling, cross-fiber, and circular.

You can lightly slide your hands back and forth across the client's skin to warm it for superficial warming. The skin reddens as new blood flows into the skin.

Cross-fiber is moving your fingers or the heels of your hands across the pattern of fibers on the muscles, perpendicular to them. Cross-fiber is great for treating muscle injuries. It is important to know what direction the muscle fibers run prior to using this technique. Anatomy is so important to know in massage therapy.

Next there is vibration. This stroke comes from a Latin word that means shaker. It is fast shaking, trembling, and slower rhythmic rocking using your fingertips, hands, and sometimes electrical appliances.

A word of caution--Always be careful of the electric cord if this is the route you choose. I, myself, do not use electric vibrators on clients as they can create an uncomfortable numbness for the client and they can damage the massage therapist's hand nerves.

The variations of vibration are rocking, coarse, and fine. The fine variation of this stroke works very well to stimulate your client's digestive system and promote what is known as peristalsis.This is especially helpful to your clients who suffer from constipation.

Jostling is another word for the coarse variation of vibration. Jostling loosens muscles that surround joints.

Rocking is comforting to the client, much like when you rock a baby to sleep. You use your hands to rock the client's body or a specific body part on the table. This relaxes your client, increases circulation, relieves pain, and relieves congestion in the upper respiratory tract.

The final one of the Swedish massage strokes we will talk about is tapotement. This is a French word that means a light blow. This is repeated strikes of the hands on a body part delivered with rhythm. There are six main types that you should be taught in the practical portion of your massage class. These are the most popular Swedish massage movements for the students to learn and practice. Talk about fun--It is so much fun to hear the students trying out all of these noise-making strokes in class on each other!

Variations of this popular stroke are tapping, slapping, cupping, hacking, pinching, and soft-fisted beating. The names sound sort of violent, but they are not. They should always be done lightly and should not hurt at all. Make sure that you learn them well in massage school before attempting them on clients.

A word of caution--Do not apply tapotement on any endangerment site on the body, such as the lower back area where the kidneys and floating ribs are located.You should have learned this in massage school repeatedly.

Tapping and slapping on the back are great when the client's lungs are congested. This can help the phlegm to release.

If you don't want to use quite as much force or noise, a diffused variation of tapotement can also be used.

To do this, lay one hand flat on the body part to be worked on. Strike your flat hand with the other hand using the form of strike of your choice. This is best when used over the abdomen to protect the organs that are not covered with bone.

Again, the Swedish massage strokes described above are the ones you will learn in basic massage school. You will practice them over and over until you can perform these Swedish massage strokes in your sleep.

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