User:Mad4massage

Mad4massage History and Origins of Massage

Massage is probably the oldest and simplest existing form of medical care that has been used for relaxation, fitness and health purposes for hundreds of years. It is not known when the practice of massage began, but it thought to have started in Egypt and China. The discovery of paintings in Egyptian tombs is thought to back up these claims, which shows pictures of people being kneaded. Other evidence to support these claims is a Chinese book written in 2,700 B.C (the Yellow Emperors classic of internal medicine), which recommends breathing exercises, and exercise using the hands and feet. The practice of massage was also found in India which dates back to around 300 B.C.

The Acient Greeks developed techniques to help athletes keep their bodies in the best physical condition for competition. A Greek doctor, Galen (130-200 A.D) recommended massage for treatment of injury and illness and that massage strokes should be used in different directions depending on what result was required. It was around this time that massage was seen to be used for pleasure, rather than just for medicinal purposes. The Romans were also known for using Greek medicine, and Julius Ceaser was thought to have regularly used body massage.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe entered into the Dark Ages, when the Catholic Church was the main authority. The Church believed that the body was a vehicle of temptation and sin, and the practice of massage was persecuted. The Church destroyed a large number of Roman and Greek books on massage, but luckily Persia and the Middle East were under-going a period of enlightenment, and a large amount of text was translated and saved in Persia. With the rise of the early Renaissance a large amount of Europeans returned to Greek traditions and some interest in body massage was revived.

In about 1800 Swedish body massage emerged from Europe. Per Henrik Ling (1786-1839) a Swedish physiologist and gymnastics instructor, travelled to China and gathered a detailed insight into their massage techniques. With the information He learnt along with His understanding of physiology, He developed the Swedish body massage, which is the most popular form of massage used today. The Swedish goverment was so impressed by His system, that in 1813 they give Him the funds to build The Royal Insititue of Gymnastics in Stockholm, were he taught it to others. His treatment became popular in Britain and Europe and in 1860 it was being used in America.

In 1894 the Society of Trained Masseuses was formed which worked hard to raise the standards and to promote massage therapy as a professional occupation. In 1894 Sir William Bennett opened a massage department at St Georges hospital in London, which established massage as an accepted form of treatment within the medical profession. Massage was used to treat people during both world wars and since the 1960's and the rise of The Human Growth Movement, which believed that you didn't need to to be ill to benefit from massage, there has been a continous demand for massage.