Massage therapy is a practice that dates back thousands of years. References to massage have been found in ancient writings from many cultures, including those of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Japan, China, Egypt, and the Indian subcontinent. Massage is the treatment and practice of soft tissue manipulation with physical, functional, and in some cases psychological purposes and goals.
Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, forearm, and feet. There are over eighty different massage modalities. In professional settings massage involves the client being treated while lying on a massage table, sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a mat on the floor.
The massage subject may be fully or partly unclothed. Parts of the body may be covered with towels or sheets. In the United States, massage therapy first became popular and was promoted for a variety of health purposes starting in the mids. In the s and s, however, massage fell out of favor, mostly because of scientific and technological advances in medical treatments. Interest in massage revived in the s, especially among athletes.
There are many types of therapy; all involve manipulating the muscles and other soft tissues of the body by pressing, rubbing and moving muscles and other soft tissues of the body, primarily by using the hands, fingers, elbows and forearms of the practitioner.
The aim is to increase the flow of blood and oxygen to the massaged area while helping restore normal and optimal muscle and supporting structure integrity.
