Friction
Friction is the specific stroke: small, focused rubbing — circular, cross-fiber, or with the tissue pinned — applied with fingertips, thumbs, or elbow at moderate to deep pressure. Where the other strokes work regions, friction works a spot, deliberately and briefly.
How it is practiced and taught
The practitioner anchors superficial tissue and moves it over deeper structures rather than sliding across skin, so little or no medium is used. Cross-fiber friction runs perpendicular to fiber direction; circular friction works around a point; depth builds gradually inside the client’s tolerance.
It is commonly used on tendinous junctions, old adhesions, and specific complaints identified at intake — clinical and sports contexts use it heavily. Its intensity is exactly why its cautions are stricter than the rest of the family.
- 01Locating — Palpation narrows the work to a specific structure or spot.
- 02Anchored friction — Tissue pinned and moved over deeper layers — cross-fiber or circular.
- 03Flushing — The area closed with gliding strokes after the specific work.
Where it comes from — typed and doored
What the profession documents
No absolute contraindications specific to this technique are documented; general massage contraindications apply — acute systemic infection or fever, suspected thrombosis, and acute medical emergencies.[S16]
Where it enters a career, and whose question scope is
Introduced at entry level with strict depth and site discipline; refined further in clinical and sports post-graduate work.
Whether this technique sits inside your scope of practice is a state question, answered by your board’s rules — never by this record. The atlas keeps that question where it belongs: