what is massage

What Is Massage Therapy?

Massage is one of the oldest, simplest forms of therapy and is a system of stroking, pressing and kneading different areas of the body to relieve pain, relax, stimulate, and tone the body. Massage does much more than create a pleasant sensation on the skin, it also works on the soft tissues(the muscles, tendons, and ligaments) to improve muscle tone. Although it largely affects those muscles just under the skin, its benefits may also reach the deeper layers of muscle and possibly even the organs themselves. Massage also stimulates blood circulation and assists the lymphatic system (which runs parallel to the circulatory system), improving the elimination of waste throughout the body.

Some Benefits Of Massage:

1.Relaxing.
2. Soothing.
3. Healing.
4. Reassuring.
5. Eases tension, stiffness, and pain.
6. Improves breathing.
7. Improves circulation.
8. Enhances well-being.

History of Massage.

Massage therapy has been touted as one of the oldest forms of medical treatment. First recorded in China during the second century B.C. in The Yellow Emperor`s Classic of Internal Medicine, massage was mentioned as a recommendation for the treatment of certain ailments. In India, the traditional healing system of Ayurvedic medicine also prescribed massage for a variety of medical conditions. Physicians of ancient Greece and Rome utilized massage as one of the primary methods to treat pain. In the West, during the fifth century B.C., Hippocrates also instructed his fellow physicians on the many benefits of rubbing.

History of Swedish Massage

It would seem that the impulse to rub a hurt was quite instinctual, but up until the early 1800s, there were few advances in the actual massage techniques until Swedish massage was developed. A Swedish doctor named Per Henrik Ling is often mistakenly associated with Swedish massage. He actually incorporated massage with medical gymnastics and physiology and developed the Swedish Gymnastic Movement System. Early on, physiotherapy was actually originally based on Ling`s manual methods.

Massage Therapy had been used for many medical and psychiatric conditions until scientific breakthroughs in medical technology and pharmacology substantially changed the foundation of medicine in the West. Quite simply, drugs became the solution for many ailments and electrical instruments gradually replaced manual methods.