This Is The History Of Massage Therapy
Posted on August 12, 2009
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Hi. On this page I’m just going to give people an insight into the history of massage therapy. Hopefully you will find the information both useful and interesting. Its in our nature to touch in order to aid healing and it always has been. We will all rub the skin when we bang our head for example. This is natural instinct and is a form of massage. I think everyone will agree it can ease the pain. Even animals will use touch to aid their injured young. It’s the most basic of natural forms of healing but can also be extremely effective. Anyone with pets will stroke them. This is massage also and is used to create a bond between humans and animals.
The first written massage book can be traced back to sometime around 3000 BC in China. It was called Cong-Fu of the Toa-Tse which emphasized a technique named Amma or Anmo. Eventually it would be the first technique to be taught to blind learners of the art massage. However hieroglyphics showing touch as a form of healing, which date back some 15,000 years have been discovered in ancient caves. Around 4500 BC saw the creation of the oldest medical book by Emperor Kiwati-Ti which was a recorded history on the essential oils. Kiwati-Ti discovered the true effects of things such as rhubarb and opium. In Egypt a physician and architect named Imhotep studied aromatic oils, which were made from gums, plants and resins mixed with fats or oils. He then recorded all the knowledge he gathered. Egyptians from the Middle Kingdom used Bassi massage which would induce a trance like state. It is thought massage would have been in use over Egypt due to their well developed social type of constitutions.
I have already mentioned the Chinese in 3000 BC. Like I said the book Cong-Fu of the Toa-Tse is the oldest recorded book on massage. In the 1700’s it was finally translated to another language, French. In the period between 2780 BC and 2680 BC Greek physicians swore an oath Aesculapius who was and is widely regarded as the father of medicine. However they were actually swearing in an Egyptian man originally named Imhotep who I mentioned earlier. In 2500 BC the Egyptians invented the art of reflexology.
In India cranial manipulation has been used for centuries however this was also developed by the Egyptians as well as the Peruvian Paracus culture between 2000 BC and 200 AD. Around 1800 BC Babylonians used Cypress, Cedarwood and Myrrh oils as antiseptics to heal themselves of infection. At the same time Indians developed a book called the Art Of Life. This was based on sensual massage techniques similar to some Karma Sutra aspects. It adopts Ayurvedic aspects which to some Indians is a code of life to handle issues including mental health, diseases, as well as spiritual aspects. In later times in Ancient Greece athletes were massaged before the Olympic Games from about the year 776 BC. In Thailand in 500 BC they created their own form of massage which was essentially based on a mixture of Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, Yoga, Buddhist spiritual practices and ancient Siam healing practices. They used Thai massage practices to treat disease and to help preserve the spiritual, emotional and physical states of people. They formed Nuad Bo’Rarn which is the traditional medical massage. During 100 BC and 44 BC it is said that Julius Caesar used Massage Therapy to ease the pain of his Neuralgia and to help his Epilepsy.
Fast forward to the 1770, the Jesuit Amait aided the European understanding of Massage with an article about the Chinese pressure points. This heavily influenced Per Henrik Ling in the creation of the Swedish Massage. Ling was a gymnast and a master of the sport fencing. He began studying massage in 1776 after he managed to cure the Rheumatism he suffered from in his arm. In the mid 1700,s Ling, then a military officer, was cured of a long term disorder by a Priest using massage techniques in Paris, France. The priest had learnt his techniques while visiting China. On his return to Sweden Ling convinced the Swedish Government to begin teaching Chinese Massage techniques to medical professionals and trainees and they created an academy for training massage. Ling continued to develop Swedish Massage Therapies until 1839. Throughout the 1800’s massage started to become more scientific and more and more techniques were created. The Canadian Deep Muscle was developed and helped to cure more specific problems by targeting particular muscle groups. The practice offers fast results for stress or pain. In 1839 Dutchman Johann Mezger adopted and endorsed massage within the scientific communities and he is seen as the originator of scientific massage. In the 1850’s the Physician brothers Charles and George Tayler from New York studied Massage Therapy in Sweden. When they returned to the U.S.A. they introduced what they had learnt to Americans. From that time onwards massage went from an unskilled state and developed into a healthcare speciality by 1920. In Britain in 1894 to 95 8 women created the Society of Trained Masseuses. It would later become The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (www.csp.org.uk). In the late 1800’s massage therapists were referred to as Machanotherapists.
Moving into the 1900’s now and in 1911 Governments would start a campaign against traditional Chinese healing methods excluding when Dr William Fitzgerald who is regarded as the father of Modern Reflexology re-invented Reflexology. The government campaign would continue until 1949. However during World War 1 Swedish massage therapies were used in the rehabilitation of injured soldiers. Between the 1940’s and 70’s massage therapy was not in very high demand. Probably as a result of the government backlash, but a select few continued to endorse it. In the late 60’s more and more people began to develop an interest in massage particularly those in fitness related careers. Healthcare professionals begun to endorse it more and more and created the modern perception we recognise today. Throughout the 60’s Albert Baumgartner began using massage in athletic sports. In the 70’s massage therapy in sport saw a massive increase in the amount of people using it. In 84 at the Los Angeles Olympics they officially offered massage treatments for the very fist time.
In 1991 archaeologists discovered a mummified man in the Italian Alps on the Austrian border. The frozen corpse dated back an estimated 5300 years but it was extraordinarily well preserved. They found tattoos which were placed precisely where acupuncture points would be. This shows us that acupuncture techniques were used over 5000 years ago.
Anyway that brings me to the end of my article and I hope this was interesting for you. I have given you all the highlights and the most significant information regarding the history of massage. Thanks for reading and I hope I explained everything you expected.
Tommy Big Thumb.
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Egypt is known as The Cradle of Civilization and Egyptian History is said to have been BEFORE Chinese in history.Do the Egyptians have Earlier written accounts of massage therapy on Pyramid hieroglyphics or whatever media? Im just curious.Thank you.