Massage Therapy :: Massage Therapy Essays

work Therapy The practice of work therapy israpidly growing in the United States. It has numerousbenefits to offer and is becoming more widely accept asa medical practice by doctors and the general public.Massage is defined as the systematic manual ormechanical manipulations of the padded 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, restoration of metabolic balance,and other benefits both physical and mental (Beck 3).There is much historical evidence to assign that rub offis one of the earliest remedies for pain relief and for therestoration of a healthy body. It is said to be the mostnatural and instinctive heart and soul of relieving pain anddiscomfort. The roots of massage can be traced back to quaint civilizations. Many artifacts have been plant tosupport the belief that prehistoric nation massaged th eirmuscles and even used some form of rubbing oils on theirbodies. correspond to research, some form of massage waspracticed in almost on the whole primeval civilizations. Ancient Chinese,Japanese, India, Hindu, Greek, and Roman civilizationsused some form of massage as a medical treatment. Inmany of these civilizations a additional person, such as ahealer, doctor, or spiritual leader, was selected toadminister massage treatments. With the lower of theRoman Empire in 180 A.D. came a decline in thepopularity of massage and health care in general. Therewas comminuted history of health practices recorded during theMiddle Ages (476-1450). The Renaissance period(1450-1600) bring back an interest in health and science.Once again, people became interested in the improvementof physical health and by the second half of the one-fifthcentury, massage was a common practice. By the sixteenthcentury, medical practitioners began to checkmassage into their healing treatments. Massage has b een amajor part of treat 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, ground on the scienceof physiology, became known as checkup 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 38 institutionsfor Swedish Movement in Europe. Today, Per Henrik Lingis known as the pay back of physical therapy.