Swedish Massage Techniques

Massage is one of the oldest forms of medical treatments.
The ancient Greeks, Romans, Indians and Chinese had their own unique massage system. These massage modalities are the basis for Swedish massage, the most practiced form of massage in the West.
The ancient civilizations valued massage as a therapeutic practice and used it as a preventive and remedial instrument.

Modern Swedish massage techniques are the product of combining techniques from all other Eastern Massage modalities and of the constant evolution, adaptation and development of massage and historic events. There is also a strong social and trend component that contributes to the continually changing look of a massage session.

Swedish massage uses four basic massage techniques, each of these techniques having its own therapeutic value and.
The four basic strokes are: Effleurage, Petrissage, Friction and Tapotement. There are also other techniques that massage practitioners can incorporate into their session, including Vibrations, Nerve Strokes, Compression and Stretching.

Have a look at the Squidoo lens about Swedish Massage Techniques.

On my youtube channel I posted a few videos showing the various massage techniques:
http://www.youtube.com/user/dbodnariuc