A Swedish massage is what most people imagine when they think of a massage and it has many benefits. Research shows that a single session provides measurable results (1). This includes boosting the immune system and providing relaxation and stress relief. Plus if you’ve never had a massage before, a Swedish massage is an excellent introduction.
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What Is Swedish Massage?
Massage history traces back over 5,000 years to ancient India, and practitioners developed Swedish massages in the 1850s. They were intended to improve circulation, ease muscle tension, improve flexibility and help the body to get rid of waste products. There is a variety of different strokes involved, but exactly which are used depends on what you and whoever is giving the massage agree is necessary.
What Is A Swedish Massage Like
A basic full-body Swedish massage will help with relaxation by easing overall stress and tension in muscles. It will also have a calming effect on the mind as it helps to remove toxins from the body and reduce your blood pressure and heart rate. The massage therapist will generally start on the front of your shoulders and work down the body and then your legs. With you then laying on your front the massage will continue back up your legs, lower back and then finish on your upper back and neck area.
However, a therapist can restrict a massage to certain parts of the body. A good example is the neck and shoulders, which are common areas of pain and tension. With you laying on your back the therapist can start the massage with the front of your shoulders and neck, which can be especially beneficial if you work at a computer or do a lot of driving. This is followed by treatment for the back of your neck, shoulders and upper back can be treated once you have turned over. Tension here can cause pain between the shoulder blades, tightness in the neck or even headaches and migraines.
Other common areas of Swedish massage are the back of the thighs and lower back, the front of the thighs and hip flexors, or the calves and shins. But it really just depends where you feel you need relaxing.
What Is A Swedish Massage For?
A Swedish massage can have many benefits. The most obvious is a feeling of relaxation and a reduction of stress and anxiety. Along with this is a feeling of less tension in your muscles as the two are very much related, with overall flexibility improved as a result. This can in turn help with sleep issues, whether this is getting to sleep, waking throughout the night or waking too early. The quality of your sleep will also improve.
Numerous studies have proven that other benefits of massage include a boost to your immune system. This is partly related to an increase in blood circulation. A Swedish massage also improves circulation of your lymphatic system and gets rid of toxins. This can help with water retention and feeling “bloated”.
Strokes Used In Swedish Massage
A Swedish massage can involve several different strokes, though not all of them will be used in every treatment. As always, the decision is with me, the massage therapist and you, the client.
Effleurage
The most common stroke used in massage is effleurage, which means, to touch lightly. It involves sweeping the general body part rather than concentrating on a specific area. For example, effleurage will usually be used on the entire back in order to warm up the muscles. Then different techniques, such as petrissage, are used on the lower, mid and then upper back.
Pettrissage
Petrissage comes from a French word meaning, to knead. This technique is deeper and involves more pressure. It is used to compress and squeeze underlying muscles to help relax and work out knots. It is similar to a deep tissue massage but less intense and more relaxation focused. If you are wanting a Swedish massage purely for relaxation, this technique can be left out.
Percussion
Percussion techniques involve hacking, chopping and cupping. These are just slightly different ways of gently “striking” muscles with different parts of the hand. This helps to relax your muscles and break down adhesions beneath the skin. It is a lot more relaxing and enjoyable than it sounds and is sometimes used at the end of a massage as a way to reinvigorate you. However, percussion can be left out if you want a Swedish massage to help with stress or sleep soon afterwards.
Stretching
As the name suggests this involves stretching various muscles and can be either passsive stretching or PNF stretching. Passive involves you staying relaxed while the stretch is applied. PNF stretching you gently push back against it.
Both will further increase flexibility and reduce tension. Although stretching isn’t generally part of a Swedish massage but can sometimes be useful.
Swedish Massage Summary
If you haven’t had a massage before, a Swedish massage is a good introduction. It is also an excellent way of finding out where your particular areas of tension are and where you hold stress. But if you are unsure whether you would benefit most from a Swedish massage or something else, just send me an email and ask.
Book A Mobile Massage
If you would like to book a mobile Swedish massage in York please contact me on 07713 250352 or email david@massageinyork.co.uk. Includes sports massage, deep tissue massage and Swedish massage. For more information on booking click here