What Is Swedish Massage Therapy? Benefits
While some people think of fancy salons and
spas when they here the name Swedish
Massage Therapy, it is simply a method
of massage that is readily available even in
the office of a chiropractor.
There are many benefits associated with a
Swedish massage and we will explore some of
them here. Swedish massage is one of the most
common forms of massage in the USA and is quite
the standard.
It is also known as a therapeutic type
massage and is an overall method that helps the
whole body.
So what is Swedish massage exactly? Simply a
set and variety of techniques or methods that
help to achieve relaxation of the muscles and
to help achieve a better and increased rate of
circulation.
The main use or purpose of Swedish massage
is: helps to release toxins from the bodys
muscles, helps to increase oxygen flow.
How is this massage method applied?
Basically the Swedish massage utilizes
techniques that apply stokes with pressure
applied in the direction as the blood would
flow as it returns to a persons heart. The
pressure is applied to bones and muscles with
various types of techniques.
These techniques are:
- Shaking motions
- Tapping
- Friction
- Effleurage
- Vibration
- kneading
- Long strokes
Each of these methods or techniques of
massage has a stroke that can offer benefits in
different ways.
And these can be further defined as 5 main
strokes such as:
- Gliding which is called Effleurage
- rubbing which is called Friction
- kneading which is called
Petrissage
- pounding which is called
Tapotement
- shaking which is called Vibration
First the therapist would attempt to
concentrate on relaxation which would utilize
gliding the palms, fingertips, or thumbs. This
would be the Effleurage stroke.
Further they would use kneading with the
fingers, thumbs, or hands and this would be the
Petrissage stroke. Along with this, the
therapist would use lotions and or oils to help
the process.
The process usually involves a body massage
covering the whole body that ranges from
between 1 hour to 1.5 hours.
With the Effleurage stroke, the goal is to
find the muscles that are tense and this gives
a person time to get comfortable as they lie
face down and are massaged from the neck all
the way down the back to the end of the spinal
column.
While with the Petrissage stroke, the therapist
is striving for the achievement of a deeper
relaxation and works to Warm-Up the person body
for more intense massage.
This technique will involve the muscles
being moved or lifted away and upward from the
bones. This will help to figure out how much or
how deep the pressure applied will need to be.
This will possibly lead to other massage
strokes that will allow for various
benefits.
The many and various benefits of utilizing
Swedish Massage Therapy are:
-
lowers blood pressure
-
increases circulation
-
The mind and the body will relax
-
helps with digestion
-
can help to relieve colic
-
Helps clear up congested lungs by
breaking up mucus
-
helps to stimulate a slower
breathing pattern
-
improves muscle flexibility
-
helps to improve the durability of
the muscles
-
helps to ease tension and stiffness
within the muscles
Theraputic Massage Terms and
Facts.
Because of the
expense and effort of massage,
it is mostly confined to a
small range of animals: beloved
family pets, and
racehorses.
Racehorses in
particular benefit greatly from
massage, for much the same
reasons that allow human
sportswomen to benefit so much
from it.
Racehorses have large
amounts of muscle, are trained
and exercised to the peak of
their capacities, and then
compete in races which cause
injury and tissue damage.
Equine
massage can
improve blood circulation,
reduce muscle spasms, and
generally help to prepare a
horse for a race.
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There are many more benefits to this form
of massage with relaxation being a major
player in this therapy. Furthermore a
person can achieve better overall well
being and health if they start receiving a
Swedish massage program.
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