Tapotement

Tapotement is from a French word meaning a light blow. This Swedish massage stroke category 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 therapy class.

These are the most popular Swedish massage movements in massage therapy school 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 this type of stroke on any endangerment site on the body, such as the lower back area where the kidneys and floating ribs are located.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 this Swedish massage stroke 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 p>

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