Pounding
Pounding is a percussion (also known as tapotement) movement.
During a pounding movement the therapist's hands are loosely clenched into fists with the thumbs lying upper-most and flat against the clenched index fingers. The movement itself is similar to the hacking movement except that in the case of pounding it is the lightly clenched little finger of each hand that makes contact with the client (as compared with the ends of the three medial fingers in the case of hacking). Also, the movement is actioned from the wrists and not from the elbows, and both hands are used to strike the client's body alternately. They are positioned just a short distance apart so that both hands work on approximately the same area of the client.
Pounding is one of the lesser-used massage techniques and may be omitted completely from some massage routines, even some Swedish massage sequences, in favour of other tapotement techniques such as e.g. hacking or pummelling.
When applied, pounding is usually used on the buttocks and thigh area. In generaI, it is applicable to the fleshy parts of the body only, so:
- not directly over bony pertuberances
- not over surface (superficial) nerves
- not over paralysed muscles
- not during pregnancy.
Note: If in doubt about the safety of a massage movement don't perform it - seek advice from a tutor or other appropriately qualified person.
This section consists of short summaries about the classical massage movements. This list of massage techniques is not exhaustive. For more general information about massage see also:
This page is in the section about massage manipulation techniques.
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