Although massage has been around for centuries in Eastern cultures, it didn’t really take off in the West until the 19th century. Under the influence of a Swedish physiologist and fencing master, Pir Henrik Ling (1776-1839), a system was developed that combined massage with physical exercise. This became known as Swedish massage, and is still the basis for most massage practiced in the West today.
Ling gave French terms to many of the movements he devised, and they are still in use today: effleurage (stroking); petrissage (kneading); frictions (circular pressures); and tapotement (percussion). In order to keep everything simple I will use the translations as these are the words I have used throughout the book.
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A Swedish massage is a technique that is used to help in the recovery process of aching muscles. Much like the name implies it is a massage that was developed by a Swedish doctor, Per Henrik Ling, with the purpose of helping muscles to recover faster. It was developed in the 1700’s and has many different techniques that are used in this massage style. The primary practice of this type of massage is to use the palms of your hands in order to make the force the muscles into the muscles below them or to rub them into bones below them. The muscles are rubbed in the same way that the blood flows through them in an effort to force the impurities and the items such as lactic acid out of the muscles and into the bloodstream away from the muscle and out of the tissue itself in order to shorten recovery times and to make the muscle more relaxed and flexible. 
