I don't know if I'm being really thick [8D] but I can't find a definition of swedish massage! I have searched HP and also a 'google' search, but can't seem to find anything that appears to be any different from Holistic Massage.
I vaguely remember that ITEC use the term for massage using talc (in their MCQ specimen paper)
Can anyone solve my dilemma or point me to a web site that can?
I did an ITEC Swedish Massage course a couple of years ago, then they decided to call it 'holistic massage' when we had completed the course. We were taught Swedish Massage techniques but are qualified in 'holistic massage'!. I'm not sure if there is a difference either! Lisa
There is quite a lot on the internet which describes what Swedish Massage is, basically it was founded by Per Henrick Ling who developed some of the massage movements ie. effleurage, petrissage etc. and these movements form the basis for most other massage styles ie. it is a technique. Holistic Massage is an approach to massage which encompasses the "body, mind & spirit" ie the whole person.
Ling is not the "father of Swedish massage," because Swedish massage was not a part of Ling’s Swedish Gymnastic Movements nor the curriculum of the Royal Central Gymnastic Institute founded by Ling in 1813. … Dutch practitioner Johan Georg Mezger (1838-1909) is generally credited (by physicians such as Emil Kleen and Richard Hael, who researched the origins of massage and gymnastics) as the man who adopted the French names to denote the basic strokes under which he systemized massage as we know it today, as Swedish or classic massage. Somehow, the term Swedish Movement System was transposed to Swedish Massage System sometime during the second half of the 19th century. Ling’s system was the Swedish Movement System or Swedish Gymnastic Movement System. This may be how he has become incorrectly associated for so long with Swedish massage. When the first books were written about Ling's Swedish Gymnastic System, the writers used the French terms so prevalent since Mezger's use of them.
this thread raises an interesting point. in my view, there are so many names describing similar things...
when does a deep tissue massage become a sports massage... or a remedial massage? what do you add to a swedish massage to make it a holistic massage... or a therapeutic massage?
i'm sure there are more... are there widely accepted definitions out there that distinguish between them that have eluded me?
speaking as a tutor, if you are doing the ITEC holistic massage course they may ask you to define holistic or swedish massage, whether we are all in agreement or not, the common things ITEC are looking for are "body, mind and spirit" and Per Henrick ling and the classic massage movements.
I agree that, if Lyn was asking the question for the purposes of an ITEC essay, it would be safer to stick with the ‘received wisdom’. But the fact that ITEC have laid something down as ‘gospel’ doesn’t necessarily make it right!
Incidentally, when I did an ITEC course in the 1990s, the textbook we were required to use was ‘Principles & Practice of Physical Therapy’ by W. Arnould-Taylor. That describes Swedish massage as ‘the manipulation of soft tissue for therapeutic purposes’. It also states (as Lyn suggested in her original query) that ‘it is traditionally performed with talcum powder’.
I am fascinated by the latter bit. I have received massage in quite a number of hotel spas and I have only once met a therapist who used talc (in fact she offered me a choice of oil or talc, and I chose oil). And although I have never visited Sweden, a friend of mine did visit Sweden on holiday some time ago, and confirmed that the therapists used oil. So I am fascinated (and slightly puzzled) as to the association of ‘Swedish massage’ and ‘massage with talcum powder’.
i trained with that book too! and yes, i am always surprised about the talc bit, seeing as we didnt use it and recent research linking talc to being carcinogenic.
mind you, the book also shows massage as being done (on the back) from neck down, with pressure... whereas, i learnt sacrum up.
Totally agree that ITEC isn't necessarily right and it is good that we look at what is and that there are loads of much more informative books than the L Tucker ones. As for talc the only time I have used it is in sports massage. I guess now that talc isn't welcomed in most circles because of the problems with asthma, carcinogens and mess, cornflour is a better option. You also see talc crop up in reflexology, but again I wouldn't choose to use it.
Strangely when I did my ITEC training our kit included a large vat of talc, none of which was touched.
Thanks for the varied replies. I will follow up the link from Alan D and try to put together a paragraph for my course work that keeps college, examiners and me happy!
As a postscript to this discussion about what exactly is a ‘Swedish’ massage, I was interested to read Ambasador’s comment (on the ‘naked massage’ thread):
Quote:
“I had my first ever massage in Scandinavia. I was shown into the massageroom by the therapist and after a short discussion was told to undress and lie on the table. She stood there and watched adding "Everything off". When I was on the table she covered me with a towel ... then with discreet positioning of the towel gave me a wonderful full body massage.“
My experience of massage in Germany is the same, and a friend of mine has had similar experience of massage in Sweden.
It is unfortunate that both ITEC and VTCT have launched courses entitled ‘Swedish massage’ when many of their tutors don’t actually teach a full body massage (as we’ve discussed on earlier threads, many tutors omit the abdomen and the glutes) and when many tutors seem to encourage their students to insist on a ‘compulsory underwear’ policy, which I suspect that most Swedes would find as surprising as our American contributors seem to!
IMC sell two ‘massage’ videos. The one entitled ‘Swedish massage’ shows the client naked (with towels as draping) and includes the abdomen and glutes. The one entitled ‘aromatherapy and massage’ shows the client wearing knickers, and doesn’t include the glutes.
I think that the lesson is that if a therapist doesn’t want to give a ‘full body’ massage (ie she isn’t comfortable treating abdominals or glutes), and if she wants her clients to keep their underwear on, she shouldn’t use the term ‘Swedish massage’ . Perhaps ‘holistic massage’ might be a better description !
I think that the lesson is that if a therapist doesn’t want to give a ‘full body’ massage (ie she isn’t comfortable treating abdominals or glutes), and if she wants her clients to keep their underwear on, she shouldn’t use the term ‘Swedish massage’ . Perhaps ‘holistic massage’ might be a better description !
Holism (from holos, a Greek word meaning all, entire, total) .... entire that is, apart from the awkward bits so it seems. Personally I think I'd be right miffed if I booked an holistic session and only got two thirds done! [sm=angry-smiley-030.gif].
Whatever next? Hot Stone massage that doesn't use stones?
Maybe a more generic term like 'Wellness' massage is more appropriate?
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“You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe” Dr Carl Sagan
Fair point – although ‘holistic’ is usually used to mean ‘whole’ in the sense of the whole person (ie the mind as well as the body) rather than ‘the whole of the body’. Perhaps ‘therapeutic massage’ might be a better alternative. In the former ITEC textbook ‘Principles & Practice of Physical Therapy’, Arnould-Taylor defined massage as ‘the manipulation of soft tissue for therapeutic purposes’. And there is also a well-known American textbook called ‘Fundamentals of Therapeutic Massage’.
hi i have just signed up at collage to do swedish massage i am a mutre student can anyone please give me a list of equipment and books i might need the course will not start untill jan 2010
thankyou valerie
SWEDISH MASSAGE?
Personally I think I'd be right miffed if I booked an holistic session and only got two thirds done! [sm=angry-smiley-030.gif]. 
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