Massage therapy has been used by ancient civilizations to treat various kinds of ailments. With the use of systematic hand strokes, stress is eliminated and both the body and the mind are rejuvenated in ways that traditional medicine cannot.
The term "massage" is said to originate from several sources:
- from the Latin word "massa" which means to squeeze or knead;
- from the Greek word "masso" or "massein," meaning to handle or touch;
- from the Sanskrit word "makeh" which means to press gently; and
- from the Arabic term "mass'h" meaning to apply soft pressure.
Massage therapy, however, has been said to come from the ancient Chinese, Roman, Greek, Egyptian, and Indian cultures. The Roman and Greek physicians traditionally turned to massage therapy for the relief of pain.
Similarly, it was rumored that Julius Caesar resorted to daily massage to relieve his neuralgia. There were even evidences of massage therapy histories in Egyptian tombs where drawings of ancient people performing massages were found.
The traditional practice of Ayurveda in India widely advocates massage and is still practiced to date. And finally, we all know about the propensity of the Chinese to prefer alternative treatments over modern medicine.
Medications are, of course, proven to work scientifically, but oftentimes ailments are not immediately diagnosed because physicians require a battery of tests before giving out a prescription. However, there are instances when a general body malaise is only caused by something as simple as stiff muscles or tendons which can easily be eliminated by massage therapy.
It took quite a while before massage therapy was accepted by medical professionals. Although it has been proven to work, medical professionals frown upon massage therapists who they feel are inadequately informed about human anatomy and physiology.
Furthermore, massage therapy goes against the practices physicians learned in medical school wherein several tests have to be undertaken before a proper diagnosis is made. In massage therapy, a simple palpation will often do, and the therapist proceeds to work on the body and simply modify the intensity of the massage on the points where it is needed.
When massage therapy became a successful adjunct to physical therapy and the rehab arena, medical professionals began to take notice. It also started to gain popularity in the sports world, where athletes would invariably turn to massage therapy to relieve their weary bodies.
It is thus inevitable that certain groups advocating massage therapy made moves to professionalize the industry. Massage therapists these days need to be certified to be credible, and in order to gain certification, one must master the various techniques and skills needed for the proper dispensation of massage therapy.
Despite the initial reluctance, massage therapy is slowly gaining a following as more and more clients benefit from its effects. Apart from its affordability and accessibility, it's the almost immediate relief one gets from massage therapy that makes it a preferred alternative to traditional medicine.
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