Like many of the therapies now considered alternative or complementary, the use of massage for healing purposes is ancient. The natural therapeutic power of touch was recognized and incorporated into the healing practices of cultures worldwide based on their understanding of the mechanisms of health and disease. Documented evidence of its use dates back to 2598 BC in the Chinese text The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine. It was used in ancient India, Greece and Rome as an integral part of the practice of medicine and its uses continued to be explored by various physicians throughout the Middle Ages and the 18th and 19th centuries. In many countries such as Germany, Russia, Japan and China various forms of massage therapy have always been integrated into standard health care practice.

In the U.S. the increasing reliance on technology, prescription drugs and surgery in the conventional medical model initiated a move away from the more interactive and time intensive practice of massage as a medical therapy. The incorporation of physically based therapeutic approaches shifted primarily to physical therapists rather than being a part of the medical care rendered directly by physicians. The resurgence of interest in therapeutic massage began in the 1960’s and 1970’s by consumers who were beginning to view health and healing in a more holistic framework, encompassing mind, body and spirit, and who were increasingly interested in strategies for prevention, self-care, and optimum health and well being. The professional practice of western massage has been advanced in the U.S. by the formation of the American Massage Therapy Association, which established educational standards and an accreditation process for massage therapy training programs, as well as the important work of many other institutes and associations in promoting high practice standards and public awareness of the benefits and appropriate use of manual therapies.

Content last modified on Mar 24, 2003