Massage Therapy :: Massage Therapy Essays

Massage Therapy The practice of massage therapy israpidly growing in the United States. It has numerousbenefits to spin and is becoming more widely accepted asa medical practice by doctors and the general public.Massage is defined as the systematic manual ormechanical manipulations of the soft tissues of the body bysuch movements as rubbing, kneading, pressing, rolling,slapping, and tapping, for therapeutic purposes such aspromoting circulation of the blood and lymph, relaxation ofmuscles, relief from pain, replication of metabolous balance,and other benefits both physical and mental (Beck 3).There is much historical evidence to indicate that massageis one of the earliest remedies for pain relief and for therestoration of a healthy body. It is said to be the mostnatural and instinctive means of relieving pain anddiscomfort. The roots of massage can be traced back to antiquated civilizations. Many artifacts have been found tosupport the belief that prehistoric people massaged their muscles and even used some form of rubbing oils on theirbodies. According to research, some form of massage waspracticed in almost all advance(prenominal) civilizations. Ancient Chinese,Japanese, India, Hindu, Greek, and Roman civilizationsused some form of massage as a medical treatment. Inmany of these civilizations a special person, such as ahealer, doctor, or spiritual leader, was selected toadminister massage treatments. With the decline of theRoman imperium in 180 A.D. came a decline in thepopularity of massage and health care in general. Therewas little history of health practices recorded during the bosom Ages (476-1450). The Renaissance period(1450-1600) revived an interest in health and science.Once again, people became interested in the improvementof physical health and by the punt half of the fifthcentury, massage was a common practice. By the sixteenthcentury, medical practitioners began to incorporatemassage into their healing treatments. Massage has been amajor g o of medicine for at least five thousand years andimportant in Western medical traditions for at least threethousands years. In the early part of the nineteenth century,Per Henrik pout, a physiologist and fencing master, fromSmaaland, Sweden, developed and systemized movementsthat he found to be beneficial in improving physicalconditions. His system of movements, based on the scienceof physiology, became known as Medical Gymnastics. In1813, Ling established the Royal Swedish Central Instituteof Gymnastics, which was financed by the Swedishgovernment. From this institute Ling and his students wereable to educate people about his Medical Gymnasticsmovements, which became known as the SwedishMovements. By 1851, there were thirty-eight institutionsfor Swedish Movement in Europe. Today, Per Henrik Lingis known as the father of physical therapy.