History of Massage

Clay tablets have been shown in Babylon to demonstrate the use of massage. Around the same time, Chinese medical manuscripts from the Zhou dynasty describe massage as being one of the 5 main treatments of the era. They used a technique called Amma, which involved rubbing and finger pressure on the meridians. Egyptian artwork in the tomb of Ankhmaor show hand and foot massage being performed. In Japan, they used the Amma philosophy to develop Shiatsu, which means finger pressure. It involves using pressure on the meridians to balance energy. Hippocrates of Greece used massage in his practice. He believed the physician should be a gifted masseuse. Julius Caesar also endorsed massage, which allowed it to be spread throughout the Roman empire. In recent times, physicians used massage in practice, until they were phased out by pharmaceuticals.

Benefits of Massage

The word massage means friction, or kneading. Massage is the therapeutic manipulation of tissues to promote the healing process. It can be done on virtually every tissue, such as fascia, muscle, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and lymph nodes.

1. Immunity

This study shows how study participants who received a Swedish massage had increased white blood cell count to fight infection. Another study showing how participants who received a massage significantly boosted their natural killer cells, which are the immune system weapons that go and take out infections.

2. Decreased stress

This is probably the most obvious benefit of massage. In this study, emergency medical staff were given Swedish massages, and reported significantly less occupational stress. A meta analysis reviewed 25 studies that all showed significant stress reduction, as well as a reduction salivary cortisol.

3. Pain management

In a study evaluating hospital patients, they were asked to rate their pain before and after the massage. After the massage, their pain rating was cut in half. Another study with post-operative patients, they received a 20 minute massage and reported significant improvement and pain and anxiety. In this comprehensive review of the literature, it shows massage can reduce pain for a myriad of conditions, such as skin conditions, fibromyalgia, arthritis, and different autoimmune conditions.

Types of Massage

If you use oils during massage, make sure you use healthy ones. Your skin is a mouth and absorbs everything you put on it. About 20% will end up being digested. Essential oils are great as well.

1. Acupressure

This was developed over 5000 years ago in Asia. Acupressure is the needle-less version of acupuncture. It involves stimulating the meridians to effect different parts of the body.

2. Myofascial release

This works on the fascia, or the casing around the muscles, which groups muscle complexes together. This is great for breaking up muscle adhesions and calcification.

3. Swedish

This involves using long, flowing strokes. It also involves kneading, gliding, or sliding.

Self massage

This is a form of massage you can do yourself. There are various tools for this, such as a golf ball, lacrosse ball, and foam roller. Doing deep tissue work can be very beneficial. Also, this is something you can do anytime, when ever you want.