How to Give a Swedish Massage

Summary: Swedish massage techniques are used throughout the world. Whether you are using these techniques at home, or experiencing them at a spa, Swedish massage is an excellent therapeutic stress reliever. By applying pressure to the muscles of the back using different strokes of the hand, the recipient of the massage will experience reduced tension among other benefits. These different hand strokes are called effleurage, petrissage, friction, tapotement, and vibration or shaking. When a masseuse uses effleurage hand techniques, he or she is using long strokes usually from the neck to the base of the spine. A petrissage movement is performed by lifting the muscles away from the bones and rolling, kneading, and compressing the muscles. To release tension, friction is used in the deepest parts of the muscles of the back. Tapotement is the typical chopping motion of the masseuse’s hands.

In this series of informative videos, our expert demonstrates Swedish Massage techniques that you can use at home. Learn these techniques to relieve stress in a loved one’s muscles, or teach them to your friends so they can massage your back, legs, neck, feet, arms, and stomach. Start by getting recommendations for massage oils from this massage expert. Get valuable information about body assessments so that you will know what muscles and problem areas to address during your massage. Last, but not least, watch as our expert demonstrates massage techniques over the different areas of the body including the gluteal muscles, calve muscles, and the shoulders and back muscles.