Information about Massage Alternative Therapies
Information and benefits of some Massage Therapies used by Complementary and Alternative Therapists.

Massage Therapies
Recent years has seen a renewed interest and acceptance of Massage as a Complementary therapy. Massage has become very popular and is still gaining in popularity. There are many practitioners working from their own premises and many who operate from commercial venues. Many of us may have heard and even used some of the more popular forms of massage.

Types of Massage Therapy
As massage has become more popular a variety of massage techniques have been incorporated into several other alternative therapies

Acupressure massage
Amatsu
Aromatherapy massage
Ayurverdic
Bowen technique
Chinese massage
Crystal massage
Deep tissue massage
Esalen massage therapy
Feldenkrais massage
Holistic massage
Hot stone
Mentastics
Qigong
Remedial massage
Reflexology
Rolfing
Shiatsu
Seitai massage
Sports massage
Swedish massage
Thai massage
Therapeutic massage
Trager massage
Tui Na massage therapy

History of Massage Therapy
It is probable that massage is the oldest form of basic medical care used by man. Thre is ecidence that the practice of using touch as a healing method derives from customs and techniques existing many thousands of years ago. Many civilisations in both the East and West discovered that natural healing and massage could heal injuries, relieve pain, and prevent and cure illnesses

There is a Chinese book dating back to 2700BC, -The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine,- (published in English in 1949, and still used regularly in massage therapy training).

Even older evidence are cave paintings that depict man applying various forms of massage, these predate this book by thousands of years.
Further evidence of Egyptians using massage are seen in the numerous Egyptian tomb paintings showing people being massaged.
Egyptians are credited with creating reflexology in approximately 2500 B.C. Using Reflexology the practitioner applies pressure to specific points or reflex zones on the feet and hands. In turn, the recipient experiences beneficial effects on the areas of the body that connect to those zones.

Later, around 1000 BC, Japanese monks who had been studying Buddhism in China became interested the healing methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which included massage therapy.

The Japanese soon began to import and customise the Chinese massage techniques, creating the traditional Japanese massage or anma, which grew into Shiatsu.

In India, Massage Therapy is thought to have been in use as early as 3000 BC but the traditions and techniques were not written down until sometime between 1500 and 500 BC. Hindus used the art of healing touch in the practice of Ayurvedic medicine. Ayurveda, a Sanskrit word, translating to "life knowledge" or "life science." It is regarded as the basis of holistic medicine, combining meditation, relaxation and aromatherapy.

Around 800 BCE, massage began to appear in Greek culture they began their own practices of massage, initially focusing on the benefits for their athletes. They used massage to condition the body in preparation for the intense physical strain of Greek athletic competition. As the practice spread the Greeks began to use massage to prepare for sleep and be met in their dreams by the gods they worshipped. Hippocrates (460-380 BC), the 'father of modern medicine,' was the first physician to suggest that external factors affected the body and caused illness.In the 5th. Century BC Hippocrates wrote that "The Physician Must Be Experienced In Many Things, but assuredly in rubbing for rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose, and loosen a joint that is too rigid."

Between 200 and 100 B.C. massage becomes popular in Rome, much of this popularity can be attributed to Galen, a physician born in Greece, he originally treating wounds gladiators acquired during their games.As his fame grew he was employed by many emperors, using massage therapy to treat different types of physical injuries and diseases (Julius Caesar was said to have been given a daily massage to treat neuralgia). Like Hippocrates, Galen believed in exercise, healthy diet, rest and massage as an important factor in restoring and maintaining a healthy body. As the use of massage therapy grew in popularity the wealthy started receiving massages in their homes by personal physicians, also many Romans were treated in public baths where trainers and doctors delivered massages. The recipients would first bathe themselves and then receive a full body massage to stimulate circulation and loosen their joints. These massage treatments invariably included oils thought to be beneficial to the skin.
The use of massage treatments eventually became one of the principal method of relieving pain employed by phsicians within the Greek and Roman empires.

In 16th century France massage practices became more widespread due to their use by royal court physician Ambroise Pare he reccomended massage as a treatment for a wide range of ailments.. In the 1700s a very old and classic Chinese text on massage called the Cong-Fu of the Toa-Tse was translated and published in French.

In the !9th century a Swedish doctor, Per Henrik Ling, developed a new system of massage based on his studies of gymnastics and physiology but also borrowed heavily from the techniques developed in China, India, Greece and Rome, this method has become known as Swedish Massage
The popularity of massage as a therapy continued and in Britain a society of trained massueses was formed in 1895 and in 1899 a massage department was instituted at St Georges hospital in London.

Today, modern massage has almost turned full circle, back to the teachings and holistic approach of the Chinese and the Ancient Greeks and utilising techniques from both the east and the west.

It is now widely recognised that almost everyone can benefit from therapeutic massage; from infants to the elderly, from athletes to the infirm.

Massage is known to provide relief from pain, anxiety, stress and even insomnia. It can be stimulating or soothing, it can provide a context for recovery by inducing a sense of well being.

Today the most common types of massage practiced in the western hemisphere are Swedish massage and the Japanese massage practice of Shiatsu, also referred to as pressure point or trigger point massage. Great emphasis is also being placed on movement and bodywork. Types of body work include: Reiki, Feldenkrais and Pilates, where the focus is a combination of movement, breathing and relaxation to improve mobility.

Massage is now used in intensive care units, for children, elderly people, babies in incubators, and patients with cancer, AIDS, heart attacks, or strokes. Most American hospices have some kind of bodywork therapy available, and it is frequently offered in health centers, drug treatment clinics, and pain clinics.