Massage may be the oldest and simplest form of medical care. Egyptian tomb paintings show people being massaged. In Eastern cultures, massage has been practiced continually since ancient times. A Chinese book from 2,700 B.C., The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, recommends 'breathing exercises, massage of skin and flesh, and exercises of hands and feet" as the appropriate treatment for -complete paralysis, chills, and fever." It was one of the principal method of relieving pain for Greek and Roman physicians. Julius Caesar was said to have been given a daily massage to treat neuralgia. "The Physician Must Be Experienced In Many Things," wrote Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, in the 5th century B. C., "but assuredly in rubbing for rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose, and loosen a joint that is too rigid."
Doctors such as Ambroise Pare, a 16th-century physician to the French court, praised massage as a treatment for various ailments. Swedish massage, the method most familiar to Westerners, was developed in the 19th century by a Swedish doctor, poet, and educator named Per Henrik Ling. His system was based on a study of gymnastics and physiology, and on techniques borrowed from China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Physiotherapy, originally based on Ling's methods, was established with the foundation in 1894 of the Society of Trained Masseurs. During World War I patients suffering from nerve injury or shell shock were treated with massage. St. Thomas's Hospital, London, had a department of massage until 1934.
Description and benefits of Massage
Massage is a holistic therapy that reduces the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion, and increases endorphins, the body's natural painkillers.
Massage therapy is the systematized manipulation of soft tissues for the purpose of normalizing them. Practitioners use a variety of physical methods including applying fixed or movable pressure, holding, or causing movement to the body. Therapists primarily use their hands, but may also use their forearms, elbows, or feet. The basic goal of massage therapy is to help the body heal itself and to increase health and well-being.
Touch is the core ingredient of massage therapy and also combines science and art. Practitioners learn specific techniques for massage and use their sense of touch to determine the right amount of pressure to apply to each person and locate areas of tension and other soft-tissue problems. Touch also conveys a sense of caring, an important component in the healing relationship.
When muscles are overworked, waste products such as lactic acid can accumulate in the muscle, causing soreness, stiffness, and even muscle spasm. Massage improves circulation, which increases blood flow, bringing fresh oxygen to body tissues. This can assist the elimination of waste products, speed healing after injury, and enhance recovery from disease.
Therapeutic massage can be used to:
- Alleviate low-back pain
- Assist with shorter, easier labour for expectant mothers and shorten maternity hospital stays.
- Ease medication dependence.
- Boosting the circulatory and immune systems by stimulating lymph flow—the body’s natural defense system, to benefit blood pressure, muscle tone, digestion
- Exercise and stretch weak, tight, or atrophied muscles.
- Help athletes of any level prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts.
- Improve the condition of the body’s largest organ—the skin.
- Increase joint flexibility.
- Diminish anxiety and depression.
- Promote tissue regeneration, reducing scar tissue and stretch marks.
- Pump oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation.
- Reduce post-surgery adhesions and swelling.
- Reduce spasms and cramping.
- Relax and soften injured, tired, and overused muscles.
- Release endorphins—amino acids that work as the body’s natural painkiller.
- Relieve migraine pain.
- Relieve chronic pain
- Promote general well-being and enhance self-esteem
It has been incorporated into many health systems, and different massage techniques have been developed and integrated into various complementary therapies such as:
Sports Massage - Combines different Massage techniques to enhance sports performance and recuperation.
Aromatherapy - Combining the therapeutic properties of essential oils with specific Massage techniques to promote health and well-being.
Reflexology - Using thumb and finger pressure on the reflex points of the feet to assist in achieving balance within the body
Relaxation Massage - A smooth, flowing style that promotes general relaxation, improves circulation and range of movement, and relieves muscular tension.
Remedial Massage - A paramedical treatment that helps to restore function to injured "soft tissues" (muscles, tendons and ligaments). Therapy may involve the use of various types of Massage, as well as a range of other physical treatments to assist your recovery.
Oriental Massage Therapies - Oriental-based systems of finger pressure Massage, such as Acupressure and Shiatsu, that treat points along the acupressure meridians, aiming to release discomfort and rebalance energy.
Massage lost some of its value and prestige with the unsavory image created by "massage parlors." This image is fading as awareness of the value and therapeutic properties of massage grows. It is used in GP surgeries by specialist therapies, hospital in intensive care units and babies in incubators, for children, elderly people, and patients with cancer, AIDS, heart attacks, or strokes.
Governing bodies of Massage
The British Massage Therapy Council (BMTC)
practitioners in the North of England
Sports Massage Association (SMA)
International Massage Association (IMA)
International Register of Massage Therapists (IRMT)
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