The History of Massage

Massage has been practiced by people of Eastern cultures for over 4,000 years. Ancient Egyptian drawings show people massaging each other’s feet. Ancient Greeks as far back as 300BC used massage as a part of their daily regular routine. Soldiers were given regular massages to ease pain and fatigue during training, as well as before and after tournaments. In Chinese medical literaature the use of massage for healing purposes dates back 4,000 years and it continues to be an important aspect of chinese medicine today.

Swedish massage was first introduced to the United States in the 1850s. By the end of the 19 ^th century, a significant number of American doctors were practicing this technique and the nation’s first massage therapy clinics opened its doors to the public. With the onset of modern technology and prescription drugs, in the early 20th century, the interest and use of massage began to decline. For the next several decades, massage remained dormant and only a few therapists continued to practice. During the 1970s, however, both the general public as well as the medical profession began to take notice again of alternative medicine and mind-body therapies, which thrust massage therapy back into the limelight. Today, the general publics interest in alternative forms of healing continues to grow rapidly.Consequently, there are more than 125,000 massage therapists practicing in the United States and their numbers are growing rapidly to keep up with the more than 80 million massage therapy appointments made every year.