Swedish Massage

What is Swedish Massage?

Swedish massage is the most common and best-known type of massage in the West. If it’s your first time or you don’t get massage often, Swedish massage is the best place to start. The Swedish body massage is the combination of many different techniques rolled into one session. During this therapy session the therapist will work with the soft tissues and muscles in the body to help restore balance and health.

The end result will relax all of the muscles in your body and to release any pain that tension may exist.

A Swedish body massage is the perfect way for anyone who is overly worked and stressed out to relax their body and mind. By relieving muscle tension, Swedish therapy can be both relaxing and energizing. And it may even help after an injury.

What Happens During a Swedish Massage?

In a Swedish massage, the therapist lubricates the skin with massage oil or lotion and performs various massage strokes. These movements warm up the muscle tissue, releasing tension and gradually breaking up muscle “knots” or adhered tissues, called adhesions. Swedish massage promotes relaxation, among other health benefits.

Before the massage, the therapist should ask you about any injuries or other conditions that he or she should know about. Things you would want tell a therapist include areas of tightness or pain, allergies, and conditions like pregnancy. You can also tell them up front if you have a preference for light or firm pressure.

Why It’s Called Swedish Massage?

Both Swedish massage and physical therapy were pioneered by a Swedish physiologist, Per Henrik Ling (1776-1839) at the University of Stockholm.

In the early 19th century he developed a system called “Medical Gymnastics” which included movements performed by a therapist. These became the known as “Swedish movements” in Europe and “the Swedish Movement Cure” when they came to the U.S. in 1858. Today it is simply known as Swedish massage.

Swedish massage is the foundation for other types of Western massage, including sports massage, deep tissue massage and aromatherapy massage.

Health Benefits of Swedish Massage

The Swedish massage helps to improve the function of your lymph system by relaxing your muscles. The lymph system works to move nutrient-filled fluids and waste around your body. The fluid is moved only through voluntary movements from the muscles.

Anyone who has problems from muscular strain will benefit from a Swedish massage. As the therapist relaxes the muscles the lymph system will have the ability to flush out all of the metabolic waste from the muscles. This will help you to heal faster.

The Swedish massage can also be used as therapy for people who suffer from any type of debilitating joint disorder that causes them pain. This benefit of the Swedish massage works to increase the elasticity in the tissues, flexibility, and to reduce the paint that they feel. After the Swedish massage many of these people will find that they are able to use their joints more than before and with little to no pain.

Personal Benefits of Swedish Massage

While a Swedish massage works great to help people who suffer from health conditions it also works wonders on people who suffer from everyday troubles and concerns. There are many things in our life that can cause us to be stressed and worried on a constant basis. The more that we stress the more our muscles became tense and we find it hard to relax them.

The pressure used during a Swedish massage therapy help to relax the muscles and relieve all of the tension that has built up. The touch of the skin also helps to relax the person and to clear their mind of anything that might be bothering them. Therapists suggest a Swedish massage to anyone who is feeling run down or suffering from mild depression.

Because it will help to give you the energy that you need and to relax your whole body it also enables you to put things into perspective. Another benefit of the Swedish massage is its ability to help you sleep. With sleep your mind will be able to rest and reset.