Massage.
TechniquetapotementDraft

Hacking

A percussion stroke where the little-finger edges of both relaxed hands strike the muscle alternately in a quick, light rhythm.

Purpose
  • Stimulate and enliven the area, often near the end of a region
  • Add a brisk contrast to slower strokes
  • Prepare a client for activity, as in pre-event sports massage
Pressure
2–5 / 10 · pressure scale
RhythmQuick and light, several strikes a second, the hands alternating and bouncing off the tissue.
HandsLittle-finger (ulnar) edge of both hands, fingers relaxed and slightly apart
Cautions
  • Use only over fleshy muscle; avoid the spine, bony points and the back of the knee.
  • Avoid the kidney area at the lower ribs and the front of the neck.
  • Keep it light over thin tissue and stop if the client tenses.

Step by step

1 / 6
  1. 01 / 06

    Prepare the area

    Warm the area first with effleurage and petrissage. Hacking goes over large, fleshy muscles such as the thigh or buttock.

  2. 02 / 06
    Hands face each other, thumbs up, little-finger edges towards the muscle

    Hand position

    Hold your hands a few centimetres apart with the palms facing each other and thumbs up. Keep the fingers relaxed so the little-finger edge makes contact.

  3. 03 / 06
    Alternating quick flicks from the wrists: one edge strikes as the other lifts

    Strike from the wrist

    Flick the hands down alternately from loose wrists so one edge strikes as the other lifts. The relaxed fingers close together on impact and make a light sound.

  4. 04 / 06

    Keep it light

    Let each hand bounce straight off the tissue. The power comes from the wrist flick, not from pushing with the arms.

  5. 05 / 06
    Keep the rhythm going while travelling along the muscle belly

    Travel along the muscle

    Keep the rhythm while moving slowly up and down the length of the muscle belly, staying on the fleshy part.

  6. 06 / 06

    Settle the area

    Finish with a few effleurage strokes to smooth the area.

Common mistakes

  • Stiff wrists and fingers, which makes the stroke thud rather than flick.
  • Striking with the fingertips or the heel of the hand.
  • Working over the spine, kidneys or bony points.
  • Losing the alternating rhythm so both hands hit together.

How it should feel

  • Giver: loose wrists and a quick, even rhythm that feels easy to keep up.
  • Receiver: a light, brisk drumming that feels energising, never stinging.

Self-check

Drills

Hacking belongs to tapotement, the rhythmic percussion strokes of Swedish massage (see Swedish massage). Its partners are Cupping and Pounding. Tapotement is usually brief and feels stimulating, so in a relaxation massage it is used sparingly and followed by calming Effleurage.

Good sites are the large muscles of the thigh and buttock: the Hamstrings, Quadriceps and Gluteus maximus.

Muscles

  • Hamstrings — Group of three muscles on the back of the thigh, running from the sitting bone to below the knee, that bend the knee and extend the hip.
  • Quadriceps — Group of four large muscles on the front of the thigh that join into one tendon over the kneecap and are the only muscles that straighten the knee.
  • Gluteus maximus — The largest and most superficial buttock muscle, and the main extensor of the hip.
  • Erector spinae — Three long columns of muscle (iliocostalis, longissimus and spinalis) running beside the spine from the sacrum to the skull that extend and side-bend the back and hold the trunk upright.

Used in routines

Modalities

  • Sports massage — Massage adapted to people who train or compete, with brisk pre-event work, calming post-event work and maintenance sessions between.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Tapotement
  2. Massage Therapy Reference: How to massage (basic techniques)
  3. Human Kinetics: Common massage techniques