The history of massage therapy is quite lengthy. Touch is among the earliest and most basic forms of communication. It was also the first way that early humans tried to heal each other's wounds. When you bang your funny bone isn't one of your first reactions to rub it?
Massage therapy has a rich tradition in India. It is an integral part of the traditional Indian medicine known as Ayurveda. Practitioners use massage to help balance their patients' energy. Chinese acupuncturists also make use of a form of massage called Tui Na. Tui massage to push and na means to pluck or pull. Thai massage is another ancient form of traditional healing. All of these examples point to massage being used by different cultures for healing early in history.
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs have been found portraying people getting foot massages. The earliest known mention of massage comes from China though. A text called "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine" references the importance of massaging the flesh. This text dates from 2,500 BC. During the Tang Dynasty, which dates form 618 to 907 AD, there were 56 massage doctors in the imperial hospital.
The ancient Greeks also practiced massage therapy. Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, wrote, "The physician must be experienced in many things but assuredly in rubbing, for rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose, and loosen a joint that is too rigid."
The most common form of massage practiced in the Western world today is Swedish massage. This style of massage came into being in the 18th century. Many people think that Peter Henrik Ling invented Swedish massage, but he did not. He did invent the Swedish Movement System and through some confusion this term became know as the Swedish massage system.
The names used to describe the strokes used in Swedish massage include:
- Effleurage
- Petrissage
- Friction
- Tapotement
These words are French in origin and were adopted by a Dutch man named Johan Georg Mezger.
Massage was introduced to the United States in the 1800's but didn't start to become popular until the 1960's when it was embraced by the flower children of the era. As time passes and people become more and more informed about health and alternative therapies, massage's popularity continues to increase.
Lovelyn Bettison is a licensed massage therapist who believes in a holistic approach to health. You can learn more about massage therapy and the conditions it can treat at her website. You can also learn how to treat yourself using self massage and how to give a massage to someone else.
http://www.massage-therapy-benefits.net
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