History of Massage
Massage - Massage is defined as the systematic manipulation of soft tissues of the body. Massage movements vary depending on the modality and the goals that they wish to achieve. A male massage practitioner use to be called a masseur and a female massage practitioner was called a masseuse both names became muddied with prostitution. Today most professionals preferred to be called massage therapists the amount of training involved in becoming a massage professional has increase and so has the level of service rendered.
The word massage can be traced back in history to at least 5 different origins. Greek, Latin, Arabic, Sanskrit and modern usage all meanings derive from the manipulation of soft tissue to knead and squeeze, or to press softly. The modern meaning of the word massage denotes the use of the hands to apply strokes to the body and manipulation the muscles or connective tissues of the body. Two best noted people that used and popularize the use of massage was Douglas Graham from Massachusetts .
Massage in Ancient times
Massage is and has been one of the oldest remedial practices of people it is natural and instinctive way of relieving pain or discomfort. One only needs to injury an appendage and instantly without prompting the person will instinctively start to care for the injury to stop the pain. If the skin is undamaged one usually would rub the affected area to distract the brain from sending the pain to the brain. Which dulls the severe nature of the pain and instructing the body to pay closer attention to the injured area of the body. In prehistoric times people massaged their muscles with herbs, oils, and various substances for healing or protection. Some people where simply better at it than others and in a tribe became known as the healers of the tribe. This person was then respected such as a doctor or spiritual healer and has administered healing powers to those of the tribe. Ancient civilizations used massage not only to relieve pain but to also improve their sense of well being and appearance.
Now that magical number, 5,000 years ago massage was a major part of medicine and only became important in western medicine approximately 3,000 years ago. It was a integral part of medicine and was taught and practiced by physicians. It was a major topic in medical text ever since the invention of the printing press.
