Swedish massage was brought to the United States from Sweden in the 1850's by Dr. Charles and Dr. George Taylor.  Who should be credited with developing the technique and whether or not it even originated in Sweden is another matter, however! Most sources on the subject have long credited  Perh Henrik Ling, a master fencer and gymnastics instructor in Sweden, with developing the technique to cure an elbow injury which he somehow sustained in 1812. Ironically, all the strokes used in Swedish massage have French names and there are several researchers who now credit Johan Georg Mezger, a Dutch who lived between 1838-1909, with adopting these names to describe basic massage strokes. Somewhere down the line, these strokes were incorporated in the technique now known as Swedish massage.

Swedish massage consists of 5 basic strokes:  Effleurage, Petrissage, Friction,Tapotement and Vibration. 

• Effleurage consists of long, gliding strokes which are used primarily
  on the limbs, the shoulder area and along the spine. The thumbs and hands apply pressure to these areas to increase circulation.
• Petrissage uses kneading strokes which are applied primarily around the joint areas of the body to help remove toxins. 
• Friction stroke uses deep, circular pressure applied with the thumbs and hands to relax knots in the muscles all over the body.
• Tapotement is a rhythmic, tapping motion applied mostly to the back and legs with the tips of the fingers or with the sides of the hands. 
• Vibration stokes involves using quick, vibrating motions all over the body.

According to Thomas Claire, in his book "Bodywork: What Type of Massage To Get-And How To Make The Most Of It"   there a few notable variations of Swedish massage:

Medical Massage: Medical massage has developed specific variations of Swedish techniques which are used to treat injuries, various illnesses and to help aid in physical therapy or rehabilitation. This type of massage is literally prescribed by Physicians or Chiropractors and the massage therapist is working in accordance with what is prescribed for a particular individual. 

Sports Massage:  This type of massage, when administered to an athlete before they begin physical activity, helps to boost performance and protect against pain and injury. If it is administered to the athlete after their perfomance, it helps remove lactic acid from the muscles and it aids in restoring normal muscle tone and range of motion. 

Trigger Point Therapy:  This variation was pioneered by Dr. Janet Travell and it essentially involves locating tender areas, usually tight muscles or muscles which have stayed contracted for a long period of time, and applying enough concentrated pressure to the area to release the knot or contraction in the muscle.  These areas are known as "trigger points" because they are the source or trigger of pain which radiates to other areas of the body.

Now you know a little bit more about America's favorite massage technique.  In my next blog, I will cover a lesser known technique that is growing in popularity: Shiatsu.

Ah, the healing powers of a good massage!  Massage therapy is probably the best known and most widely utilized form of complementary or alternative medicine that there is. Massage is frequently used by physical therapists (and is even sometimes 
recommended by physicians) to help speed the healing time of muscles and joints after an injury or certain types of surgery. It is also often recommended to help manage chronic pain. Massage may also be beneficial for other chronic conditions such as depression, diabetes, high blood pressure and infertility, for example.  More and more insurance companies are covering, at least in part, the cost of massage therapy sessions, noting that the stress reduction and relaxation that are the result of a good massage will ultimately lead to less illness and disease. 

Oddly enough, the vast majority of us that have ever had a massage have probably all had the same type, a Swedish massage.  Swedish massage is the most common form used in the Western world, though other forms are gaining rapidly in popularity.  All together, there are over 80 types of massage therapy and if you combine massage with other types of bodywork, the number surpasses 200!  I don't plan on covering all of them (I'm not even sure if I could find out what ALL of them are) but I will be introducing you to a number of them over the next few days.  Tomorrow I will start with the familiar Swedish massage and tell you about its origins and some of its variations.  Stay tuned!