The ten best massage techniques explained

There are many types of massages, each with their own benefits to relieve stress, pain or improve general well-being. Massage is an ancient art with many variations depending on the country of origin. I explore some of the most popular ones, explaining the treatment and its individual benefits.

Swedish massage

Swedish massage, the most popular in the world, is also known as 'classic massage' and is the basis for most other types of western massage. It involves using firm but gentle pressure to promote relaxation, working in areas of specific muscle tension. It is performed on bare skin with oils or lotions. The therapist uses his hands, forearms, or elbows to manipulate the superficial layers of the muscles. Swedish massage shortens the recovery time of muscle tension by rinsing the tissues of lactic acid, uric acid and other metabolic wastes by increasing the level of oxygen in the blood, increasing the speed with which the body's cells can remove their materials from scrap.

The five basic strokes of Swedish massage include:

Effleurage (slip or slip)
Petrissage (knead)
Tapotement (rhythmic tapping)
Friction (cross fiber)
Vibration / jerking

Deep tissue massage

Deep tissue massage, as the name implies, focuses on the deeper layers of muscle tissue. Unlike Swedish massage, which is used for relaxation, deep tissue massage focuses on a specific problem, such as: chronic pain. Treats the connective tissue of the body instead of just the surface muscles. It is similar to Swedish massage but with slower movements and deeper pressure. Deep tissue massage helps to refresh and relax muscles, increasing blood flow, and therefore oxygen flow around the body. A deep tissue massage is very slow with long fluid movements to facilitate the entry and exit of the muscle. The goal of deep tissue Massage is not to let you feel relaxed and happy; rather, it helps to address particular physical and muscular problems to ease pain and restore normal movement.

Sport massage

Sports massage was designed for athletes, but is suitable for anyone with chronic pain, injury, or range of motion problems. It focuses on the prevention and healing of injuries to muscles and tendons. Sports massage differs from therapeutic massage in that it is a deeper form of soft tissue massage that uses specific techniques to treat physically active people.

The different types of massage include: Post-event: to bring the body's tissues to their normal state. Restorative: During training, athletes can train harder and minimize the possibility of injury. Rehabilitation: aimed at relieving pain due to injury. A sports massage is a good option if you have a specific problem sustained through sports. It stimulates the circulation of blood and lymphatic fluids, allowing optimal metabolic exchanges, a better recovery after intense training, better performance and a lower onset of muscle pain, in addition to reducing the possibility of injury.