How to Give Swedish Calf Massage

Cramped calf muscles are painful involuntary contractions of the calf muscles. Anyone can experience cramped calf muscles or leg cramps, but people who do a lot of running or even walking are more susceptible to it. A basic Swedish massage can go a long way towards relieving muscle strain and cramping in calves.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Use your arm to massage the strong calf muscles as a way to give your fingers a break. Often fingers and hands are used in Swedish massage to stroke, knead, tap, create friction, shake, vibrate, do brisk hacking (percussion), and bend and stretch. When you use your forearm, be sure to use the fleshy part and not the bony part.

2. Lean forward beginning at the bottom of the leg just above the ankle. Let your forearm roll over the muscles with firm pressure. Keep your palm up. Move slowly when you're applying a heavier pressure and move your arm a little faster when the pressure is lighter.

3. Do this movement on both sides of the calf or use both arms at the same time, one on each side of the calf.

4. Round off the movement at the top so that it doesn't feel as though the movement has stopped mid massage.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't put pressure on the back of the knee because some important arteries are located there; it could cause health problems if too much pressure is placed on them.
• Don't perform a Swedish calf massage during the acute stage of any leg injury, usually about 48 hours after the injury. A massage will make the injury worse by increasing blood flow to the area and possibly causing some or more bleeding.

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