What is Swedish massage therapy?

Swedish massage therapy employs a variety of massage strokes involving the hands, forearms, and elbows with the use of oils or lotions to help relax tense muscles or alleviate pain from various health conditions. The Swedish massage has five different stroking techniques, which are effleurage, petrissage, friction, tapotement, and vibration. Effleurage technique consists of the hands gliding in long strokes from the neck to the back and then down wards to the base of the spine. The shoulders receive the same strokes while going down towards the arms to the end of the fingertips or towards other bodily limbs. Petrissage technique involves gently moving and lifting the muscles in an upward bound motion away from the bones, followed by rolling and squeezing with a gentle pressure from the palms of the therapist’s hands, more like kneading. Friction technique involves the therapist using her thumbs or fingertips to create transverse movements or deep penetrating circular stokes. This ...  more