Massage Therapy :: Massage Therapy Essays

massage Therapy The send of rub off therapy israpidly growing in the United States. It has numerousbenefits to offer and is becoming more widely accepted asa checkup exam practice by doctors and the general public.Massage is defined as the imperious manual ormechanical manipulations of the soft tissues of the body by much(prenominal) movements as rubbing, kneading, pressing, rolling,slapping, and tapping, for therapeutic purposes such aspromoting circulation of the blood and lymph, relaxation ofmuscles, rest from pain, restoration of metabolic balance,and other benefits both physical and mental (Beck 3). on that point is much historical evidence to indicate that massageis one of the early remedies for pain relief and for therestoration of a wellnessy body. It is said to be the mostnatural and instinctive means of relieving pain anddiscomfort. The roots of massage can be traced back toancient civilizations. Many artifacts have been tack together tosupport the belief that pre historic people massaged theirmuscles and even used round form of rubbing oils on theirbodies. According to research, some form of massage waspracticed in almost all early civilizations. Ancient Chinese,Japanese, India, Hindu, Greek, and roman type 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 pudding stone in 180 A.D. came a decline in thepopularity of massage and health care in general. Therewas little history of health practices preserve during theMiddle 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 second half of the fifthcentury, massage was a putting green practice. By the sixteenthcentury, medical practitioners began to incorporatemassage into their healing treatments. Massage has been amajor part of medicine for at least flipper thousand years andimportant in Western medical traditions for at least threethousands years. In the early part of the nineteenth century,Per Henrik Ling, 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 know 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 werecapable 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.