The History of Massage

Archaeological evidence of the different types of massage and the various techniques that encompass them has been found in many ancient civilisations including China, India, Japan, Korea, Egypt, Rome, Greece, and Mesopotamia.

Massage is perhaps one of the oldest forms of healing therapy practiced on the human body. Dating as far back as 2,700 B.C., ancient Eastern Chinese cultures practiced massage to heal a variety of ailments from labour pain to paralysis. Ancient Egyptian tombs have been discovered adorned with images of figures being massaged. In addition, according to traditional Indian medicine, therapeutic massage was performed using a variety of aromatherapy oils and spices for their healing properties. Even famous Greek and Roman figures - such as the great Julius Caesar - underwent daily massages to treat nerve pain.

The word ‘massage’ comes from:

- French massage meaning "friction of kneading" - Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle" - Latin massa meaning "mass, dough", - Greek verb μάσσω (massō) "to handle, touch, to work with the hands, to knead dough".

In Western culture, commonly practiced forms of massage include Swedish, Remedial and Sports massage. First introduced in the 19th century, Swedish masseuses were thought to have based many of their techniques on traditional therapies of China, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Massage techniques are often incorporated into other complementary therapies as well as Physiotherapy and Occupational Rehabilitation. Many of our now popular modern massage techniques were created in response to a need to heal specific health conditions. For example, soldiers who fought in World War I were administered massage for nerve damage and to soothe shell shock in western hospitals during the 1930s.