Massage

Massage is the manipulation of soft tissues in the body. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. A person who was professionally trained to give massages was traditionally known as a masseur (male) or a masseuse (female), but those titles are outmoded, and carry some negative connotations. In the United States, the title massage therapist has been recognized as a business norm for those who have been professionally trained to give massages. In professional settings, clients are treated while lying on a massage table, sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a mat on the floor. In amateur settings, a general purpose surface like a bed or the floor is more common. Aquatic massage and bodywork is performed with recipients submersed or floating in a warm-water therapy pool. The word comes from the French massage 'friction of kneading', which, in turn, comes from the Arabic word مَسَّ massa meaning 'to touch, feel'. Others claim an origin from the Portuguese amassar 'knead', from the Latin massa meaning 'mass, dough', from the Greek verb μάσσω (massō) 'to handle, touch, to work with the hands, to knead dough'. In distinction the ancient Greek word for massage was anatripsis, and the Latin was frictio. Archaeological evidence of massage has been found in many ancient civilizations including China, India, Japan, Korea, Egypt, Rome, Greece, and Mesopotamia. BC 2330: The Tomb of Akmanthor (also known as 'The Tomb of the Physician') in Saqqara, Egypt depicts two men having work done on their feet and hands, presumably massage. BC 722-481: Huangdi Neijing is composed during the Chinese Spring and Autumn period. The Nei-jing is a compilation of medical knowledge known up to that date, and is the foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Massage is referred to in 30 different chapters of the Nei Jing. It specifies the use of different massage techniques and how they should be used in the treatment of specific ailments, and injuries. Also known as 'The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon', the text refers to previous medical knowledge from the time of the Yellow Emperor (approx 2700 BC), misleading some into believing the text itself was written during the time of the Yellow Emperor (which would predate written history). BC 762 'In the Iliad and the Odyssey the massage with oils and aromatic substances is mentioned as a means to relax the tired limbs of warriors and a way to help the treatment of wounds,'