The first beautiful weekend of spring is a common time to want to get outside and feel the warmth of the sun, smell the new growth of flowers coming to life, hear the birds sing, see the new colors of the flowers bursting open… We are so happy to finally get outside after being couped up during the winter that we might overdo some of the outdoor activities in our manic elation to crowd all our winter daydreams into the first pretty spring day outside. Massage therapists will be busy working out many a client’s muscle soreness from overdoing those outdoor activities. Petrissage is the perfect Swedish Massage stroke to work the soreness out of those overworked muscles!
Petrissage
The French translation means literally, to mash or to knead. There are five strokes that make up Swedish Massage and petrissage is the second, it typically follows after effleurage has warmed and prepared the tissues for deeper work.
Petrissage is executed as a cycle of rhythmic lifting, squeezing, releasing of the muscles. Petrissage is the stroke of choice to “milk” the tissues of metabolic wastes and bring new blood and oxygen to the tissues. It stretches and broadens the tissues.
This stroke involves kneading and compression motions. Visualize kneading dough. It gently lift the muscles up and away from the bones then rolls, squeezes, or presses the muscles to enhance greater circulation. As it deepens the circulation it facilitates the clearing of toxins from muscle and nerve tissue.
Information Section # 1: Basics and Safety
Hand position:
1.) Find a table and a pillow doing each step as shown
2.) Hold your hands in the following manner.
Hand is “C-shaped”
3.) Grasp the skin and underlying muscles, knead, wring, or squeeze. Relax your grasp, then repeat the lifting, compressing and releasing cycle. It helps to apply this pressure in a rhythmic circular fashion.
- Note: Work one area using several repetitions until the tissues soften before proceeding to another area.
4.) Maintain contact during each repetition
Guidelines:
When working larger muscles it helps to use as much of your hand as possible. It may help further if you visualize that your hands are suction cups extracting toxins from the tissues.
Caution: Wrist position and alignment are important, keep your wrists straight
Practice Session # 1
View the following video on Petrissage of the Posterior/Back of the arms. Grab a pillow and follow along. Watch a few times before attempting on your own.
Testing Session # 1
Watch this video on Petrissage of the Anterior/Front of the legs. Then follow the written sequence listed next.
Try these simple and very effective effleurage and petrissage strokes on someone’s leg….OR Grap a pillow!!
1.) Put 3 squirts of oil into one hand and warm the lubricant, rubbing your hands together.
2.) Standing at the side of the table in a lunge position with your palms down at their ankles.
3.) Place hands in L shapes, finger tips pointing toward their head, and just be still for 10 seconds.
4.) Lean and drag and with the common L-shape of the hand, very slowly toward their hip. Push toward hip keeping each arms straight and wrist relatively unbent. This first excursion should take about 10-15 seconds and you should feel the fullness of the arm in the heel of your hands as you push away from yourself.
5.) Drag only the weight of your hands back, never losing contact, as you come back to your original starting place.
6.) With both hands, grasp the skin and underlying muscles, knead, wring, or squeeze. Relax your grasp, then repeat the lifting, compressing and releasing cycle. It helps to apply this pressure in a rythmic circular fashion. Repeat 3-5 times until you feel the tissues soften.
Things to Notice:
Notice how the tissues soften and become easier to knead.
If you need to, close your eyes to focus and concentrate.
Compare the 1st and last stroke and describe how the tissues feel different.
Do this sequence again to the back of their leg
Information Section #2: Petrissage Variations:
One-handed
Used for small areas, such as the arms, legs, and top of the traps.
You may use pads of fingers and thumbs.
Two-handed
Same as one-handed except that both hands are lifting, compressing and releaseing simultaneously
Larger areas may be addressed with two-handed petrissage, such as the back.
Interlaceing the fingers (praying hands position) or add compression to create waving motion (ocean waves) works well horizontally down the back.
Alternate hand
Lift skin and underlying tissues with one hand and compress.
Lighten the grip enough to allow release and still remain in contact with skin.
Repeat the first move with the opposite hand.
Duplicate sequence alternating both hands
Fulling aka Broadening
Grasp tissue with both hands, lift up and away from bone while spreading it laterally.
Repeat til tissues feel warm and elastic
Broadens muscles and related tissues, mimicking muscle contraction movement.
Skin Rolling
Remove excess lubricant
Grasp and lift between fingers and thumbs compressing tissue
Roll skin as though rolling a pencil using fingers to scoop skin as move across area
Roll in several different directions (vertically, horizontally, diagonally)
Repeat 2-3 times in a session and allow time between each application.
Practice Session # 2
View the following videos of back. Follow along or watch a few times before attempting on your own.
Testing Session # 2
Try this simple and very effective petrissage stroke on someone….OR Grab a pillow. Try to do it without the video below and then watch it to see how much you understood.
1.) Standing at the side of the table facing toward the client’s head. Place one hand on either side at their shoulders, and just be still for 10 seconds.
2.) With both hands, grasp the skin and underlying muscles, knead, wring, or squeeze. Relax your grasp, then repeat the lifting, compressing and releasing cycle. It helps to apply this pressure in a rythmic circular fashion. Repeat 3-5 times until you feel the tissues soften.
3.) Now change to alternate hand petrissage. Lift skin and underlying tissues with one hand and compress. Lighten the grip enough to allow release and still remain in contact with skin.Repeat the first move with the opposite hand. Duplicate sequence alternating both hands. Repeat 3-5 times until you feel the tissues soften.
You should notice each stroke becoming deeper as you progress.
If you need to, close your eyes and focus and concentrate.
Compare the 1st and last stroke and describe how the tissues feel different.
Final Information
In summary, the benefits of petrissage are:
- Increases blood flow
- Works out wastes
- Reduces local swelling
- Relieves fatigue
- Improves cell nutrition
- Relaxes and lengthens muscles
- Adresses tension under surface.
- Reduces muscle soreness and stiffness
- Stimulates nervous system
- Softens superficial fascia
- Aids in release of endorphins (skin rolling)
Now that you’ve practiced those basic routines find a person or a pillow and try putting it all together for a complete massage for the whole body. Enjoy making your loved ones feel amazing.
Comments:
Please tell us what you think or Petrissage!!! OR What is your favorite part of the receiving massage?
Back:
Posterior Arms:
Posterior Legs
Neck
Anterior Arms & Hands
Anterior Legs
Feet
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REFERENCES
Massage Therapy: Principles and Practice; Susan G. Salvo; Third and Fourth Editions; Copyright 2007-2012
Community Care College Massage Therapy Resource Center; Community Care College Massage Therapy Department
http://www.alignmentoflife.com/massage-therapy-.html
This is great and very helpful, I just started level three adding the petrissage. I will keep all this in mind and reference it as I go!
I think petrissage is the most common type of massage, that even people who have no experience massaging use. It’s a natural way to think to work muscles. I carry a lot of tension in my neck/traps, so when done properly, this can be so effective to loosen those tight muscles!
I’m fairly new to this method but hope to perfect it soon.
I have seen the rolling done in class it looks so neat and feels great. I am forward to using this technique.
This is some interesting stuff this could be useful and it has videos cool
I love doing petrissage because of all of the lifting and stretching and broadening of the skin and the way it feels when you pick up and release the skin how your whole body is all tingly and you sometimes get the chills.
I enjoy petrissage just as much if not more than effleurage. This is a GREAT review of petrissage-love demonstration teaching!
I’m new to the program, this was really helpful to watch the videos of the steps of petrissage. Look forward to perfecting this.
I’m looking forward to exploring level three/petrissage even further. Thank you, Sharon for providing us an excellent run-down and helpful videos to us for further education!
At first I didn’t like petrissage at all! But since I have progressed in class and had more time to practice in lab I use it all the time. I really enjoy having it done on me and now I like using it in my routine. The clients I have worked on so far really seem to enjoy it as well!
Love the videos. It helps explain to people who don’t have any experience.
Thank you for the hard work on ths blog! It has a lot of great information. I really like the idea of the petrissage. It is great for your clients and I love getting them.
Thank you for posting this blog. It always great to be refreshed of what we are suppose to do with a client helps us to remember proper body mechanics.
Thanks for the petrissage refresher!
this is great and petrissage is always good.
Thank you for the wonderful blog, and refresher on petrissage . Great videos
Very helpful prep for level 3. B
Very thorough.
I liked watching this videos they were very informative looking forward to putting the them into practice . I am also glad that I can go back and watch them again. But there is something about watching live that helps too.
Petrissage on the hands is my favorite, they need it after doing so many massages.
Petrissage is my favorite move to us on the back as well as the hamstrings!
Petrissage is my favorite manipulation! These demos are awesome
petritssage is one of those techniques I like to use to wick oil off of clients. Plus it feels nice. Great for double use and transitioning from one stroke or side to another.
I absolutely love the skin rolling technique, I know some people are not much of a fan of it but then ones who do enjoy it really love receiving the rolling.
I thoroughly enjoyed this blog. Loved the videos. I enjoy the different techniques of the individual therapist.
I love petrissage, it feels great. You can only petrissage someone’s shoulders for like 5 minutes and their day gets so much better!!! It’s just that awesome!!!
Great YouTube how to’s great to go back to and improve on my skill, I enjoy perrissage
Good blog on Petrissage! The videos are good to learn from for newbies. Thankyou for sharing! 😁