Kneading is lifting and rolling muscle between the hands, also called petrissage.
The tissue is picked up, squeezed, and rolled rather than pressed straight down. In 📝Deep Tissue Massage it warms a belly and asks bunched fibers to move before a slower, deeper pass. It is a stroke, not a diagnosis, and not a claim to milk waste from a muscle as a medical event. Pressure stays in a range the person can breathe through.
Clients feel a wringing that should stay comfortable. Pinching skin, bruising, or working over bone is the wrong version. Sharp pain is a stop.