How to Give Swedish Massage for Shoulders

The shoulders and neck are 2 of the most intensive repositories for muscle strain and tension. Doing Swedish massage on the shoulders is an effective way to ease shoulder and neck pain and begin to relax the rest of the body. Follow these steps to give Swedish massage for the shoulders.

Instructions

• 1

  Put a drop of massage oil on your hand and then rub your hands together to warm the oil and your hands.

• 2

  Begin with your massage client lying face down on a bed or massage table. Place your open hand on the back of the person's shoulder. Slide your hand along the muscle towards the neck, moving your whole body to perform the motion. Bring your hand back in the same manner. Continue this back and forward motion and then switch to the other shoulder.

• 3

  Move down to the shoulder blade with your open hand. Rub downward until you get to the bottom of the shoulder blade. Insert your second hand at the top of the shoulder as your first hand reaches the bottom. Keep repeating the motion on this circuit to massage the shoulder completely.

• 4

  Bring your thumb into the massage to add an extra point of pressure to all the different types of movement you did in the Swedish massage. Begin at a relatively light pressure and gradually increase so you work knots out of the muscles.

• 5

  Place constant pressure on knots until you feel them relax. If the person receiving the massage has difficulty with the pain, then start with a lower pressure and increase the pressure on the knot slowly until you can use the amount of pressure necessary to relieve the knot.