Massage Therapy (Swedish Massage)
General Information
Massage Therapy involves using a healing touch to treat a client. This is typically done by applying the hands either directly or through clothing and rubbing the body's soft tissues such as muscles, tendons and ligaments. Massage can be a gentle touch - promoting relaxation and relieving stress, or it may be a firmer, deeper touch so as to have a more specific relaxing effect on areas of tension.
The term Swedish Massage is often associated with the basic techniques of relaxation massage. These include:
- Effleurage: Longer, gliding or sweeping strokes
- Pettrisage: Kneading, squeezing and rolling the soft tissue
- Frictions: Rubbing a specific muscle group either lengthways or cross-fibre
- Compression: Applying fixed pressure to an area or to an individual muscle or tendon
- Vibrations: Rythmic manipulations or oscillations of the soft tissue
What are the benefits of Massage Therapy?
There are many types of massage, each providing its own unique benefits. Most however, are based around the techniques above and consisently provide the following benefits:
- Reducing stress
- Relieving tension in muscles, tendons, or in connective tissue
- Managing pain associated with injuries or headaches
- Managing repetitive strain symptoms
- Enhancing quality of sleep
- Increasing blood circulation to an area
What are the qualifications of a Massage Therapist?
Whilst any of us have the natural capabilities to massage well, and to provide many of the benefits listed above, obviously with training and experience comes expertise. The standard level of qualification of massage therapists in Australia is the Certificate IV in Massage. This is obtainable from many colleges, universities, TAFEs and other private institutions. When seeking a professional therapist, it is recommended to ensure that the therapist is a member of a recognized association.