The first written records of 키스방 massage were found in Egypt and China. According to many historians, the first known recorded cases of massage therapy occurred thousands of years ago, in ancient China and Egypt. The oldest recorded dates for the origins of massage therapy are from 2,700 BC, in ancient China.
The practice of massage therapy originated with ancient techniques dating from as far back as 2700 BCE. In China, texts that documented the medicinal benefits of massage therapy can be traced to about 2700 BCE. Texts explaining the use of massage as a medical treatment in ancient China date back approximately 2,700 BCE.
There is some dispute about which cultures developed proper forms and techniques for massage first, but some of the first documented evidence comes from India, about 3,000 B.C. The first known written tradition of massage came from India, but it is possible that practice really began around 3,000 B.C. or before. Sanskrit records suggest massage was being practiced in India well before recorded history began.
Records indicate that Hindus used massage as a part of their sanitation regimen. As early as 3,000 BCE, Chinese people used massage for curing ailments and improving overall health. Chinese practices evolved into the multiple holistic, healing massages and body treatments that we use to this day, like acupressure and acupuncture.
The Chinese also implemented massage therapies in their medical practices, believing that health problems were caused by an imbalance in body energy. Medical gymnasts quickly incorporated massage into their general methods, the combination is sometimes called mechanotherapy. Massage as a treatment method was kept outside of the mainstream for years.
By the early 1900s in America, massage had become a dominant term for manual treatment generally, with masseuses and masseurs being specialized practitioners who were trained in the traditions of Pehr Henrich Ling in Sweden and Mezger. In the 1950s, the American Society of Massage Therapists and Masseurs, founded in 1943, now American Massage Therapy Association, began laying the groundwork for Americas massage profession, setting education and ethics standards for the field. Since then, massage has continued to expand into sports and businesses.
With the work of Ling and Metzger, massage was recognized as an effective method of healing, and it became widely used across a number of medical fields. Doctors at that time used herbs and oils combined with massage techniques to treat a variety of health conditions. In Rome, in the 1st century BC, Galen, the physician of many Emperors, began using massage to cure various types of injuries and medical conditions.
The earliest written records of massage being used in medicine and healing were written by the oldest civilisations of the world, the Egyptians and Chinese. One of the first known uses of hot stones for massage purposes comes from a text in China thousands of years ago, although a number of cultures and countries have been involved with this practice as well. Texts detailing the place of massage in the practice of Ayurveda were written about 1500-500 BC, but studies have shown the technique was developed centuries before its recording.
Although massage is considered its own health care practice today, massage was the source for many health care practices that came after, such as physical therapy (PT) and chiropractic manipulation. Given the long history of massage, it is use in Western medicine is only beginning.
What we know of massage today might differ from how it began, but the core practices and techniques involved are quite similar, and they ultimately function to enhance health, well-being, vitality, and enhance the natural function of the body with a healing touch by the practitioner. At The Natural Therapy Academy, we believe in the power of massage for healing.
At Discover Massage Australia, we teach a variety of forms of massage techniques, including both ancient and modern treatments. Todays massage therapists practise many techniques that have evolved from ancient techniques. Back then, massage was performed almost exclusively by ancient-era equivalents to todays doctors.
Modern Western medicine and massage were developed in large part in the 19th century, with Per Henrik Ling creating what we know today as classical, or Swedish, massage, the best-known form of massage worldwide. Per Henrik Ling based his system around these ancient forms of touch and massage.
Ancient Chinese books recorded lists of massage movements, along with descriptions of their techniques. Every one of ancient Chinese books, including Kung Fu Dao Tzu, has descriptions of the massage movements used during that time.
One of ancient Chinese books, the Cong Fau, Tao-Tse, also contains lists of exercises and massages used for improving overall health and wellbeing. This book was not published in English until the mid-1900s, but is now considered to be one of the foundational books taught at Acupuncture schools, detailing practices and techniques used in modern Eastern medicine and massage therapy.
This same method of massage therapy is also found in Egyptian art and Greek texts, which were first recorded in about 2500 BCE. This technique is very similar to what we would identify as sports massage therapy today, since athletes in Ancient Greece used massage techniques to help them maintain peak athletic ability. Famously known for Greek athletic competitions, Greeks used massage alongside herbs and oils as a means of keeping their athletes in peak condition.