It is important for us to remember that everything we do about our health, we need to be wise about. From the foods we consume, the water we drink, the air we breathe, our thought processes and all of our emotional states.
Some history on massage, historians know that massage was used in ancient China, India, Egypt and Persia. Massage was described by Homer in 1200 B.C. and by Hippocrates the father of Medicine in 460 BC.
Hippocrates and his teacher Herodotus were proponents of massage and exercise.
Massage was used in ancient Greek and Roman baths. Julius Caesar had daily therapy of being pinched all over his body to relieve neuralgia related to his epilepsy. The roman naturalist Pliny received massage for relief of his chronic asthma. The Greek Physicians prescribed massage for patients and for athletes. During the Middle Ages in Europe massage was almost forgotten along with other ancient medical practices. Healthcare consisted of mostly bloodletting and exorcisms.
More recent history interest was renewed in medical practices including Anatomy, physiology, hygiene and massage in the sixteenth century. Sometime in the 17th or 18th centuries the French translated an ancient Chinese book called ‘The Kung Foo of the Tao-Tse’ which was probably the foundation of modern massage. Since the French introduced Chinese massage to the West French terminologies have been used for massage Strokes.
Swedish massage was developed Per Henrik Ling 1776 - 1839 he was a Swedish fencing master and a gymnastics instructor. Ling developed a systematic method that combine massage and medical gymnastics exercises without differentiating between the two his method became known as the Ling system or the Swedish movement treatment and was included in the curriculum of the royal gymnastics Central Institute in Stockholm. Through Lings students and foreign students who attended the Institute Swedish massage became known in many other countries. Between 1854 and 1918 the practice of massage developed into an accepted field of medical health care. Many reputable Institutes of massage and medical gymnastics were established in Europe. Persons with noteworthy contributions include Gertrude Beard, Harold Storms and James Cyriax.
With the recent trend toward holistic health care has come and increasing demand for massage therapy. The profession has grown establishing schools and National organizations to promote it. Many states and local governments have established the licensing requirements. The practice of related modalities has led to the use of the term Bodywork to include techniques other than soft tissue manipulation.
The role of the massage therapist today. Massage therapy continues to gain acceptance in this country there are several obstacles to the profession. Number one conservative medical professionals who doubt the therapeutic value. Number two the negative connotations dissociating massage with sex or prostitution due to the image of massage parlors. To overcome the false impressions massage therapists must conduct themselves in a professional manner and be aware of the legal limitations of their practice. Using the term massage therapist is preferable to masseur or masseuse we need to be well aware of laws concerning draping the client and never allow sexual jokes or suggestive comments.
Today you will find massage therapists working in Physicians’ offices health clubs or gyms health spa or resorts cosmetology salons and out calls.