Massage has a long history dating back to prehistoric times. Ancient civilizations like Egyptians, Hindus, Greeks, Romans, Chinese and Japanese referenced the benefits of massage for well-being as early as 300 BC. Physiologically, massage improves circulation and oxygenation, resulting in pain relief. Massage can be applied by professionals or laypeople and is used in physical therapy to treat various medical issues. The sense of touch is instinctive and massage can help relieve tension when applied carefully.

1. What’s a massage

2. • The sense of touch is a form of intense
communication and play should be a natural
relationship between people. The act of
touching is instinctive to human beings. When
you get hurt, massaging the spot
instinctively, trying to relieve pain.

3. • Physiologically, massage the painful area
improves the circulation and consequent
oxygenation than warm the affected area. All
these effects result in pain relief. There are
several types of massage, with many different
purposes: relaxation, stimulation, postural
correction and improvement of sexuality are
among them.

4. • But most of the massage is premised on
promoting the health of the massaged and
can be applied in several areas of medicine:
problems, cancer, respiratory, digestive and
rheumatology few. In such cases, massage
should be applied by professionals in physical
therapy or who have made some progress in
specific techniques such as Ayurvedic, shiatsu,
tuina, reflexology and rolfing.

5. • Physical therapy uses massage as a diagnostic
tool and therapeutic. This professional knows
that the touch be it profound or subtle, provides
local and general effects on the human body.
Both physical and psychological effects, says the
physiotherapist Simone Lima.
• But the privilege of receiving a massage need not
necessarily be enjoyed in a clinic or in the hands
of a professional. If, after a full day at work, you
are hungry for a good massage to relieve
tension, you can be massaged by the hands of a
layman.

6. • How touching is a natural instinct to massage
to relieve tension can be applied by
anyone, provided that carefully. In cases of
relaxing massages, one should stimulate the
muscles of the shoulder (trapezius) to release
the toxins and , consequently, relieve tension.

7. HISTORY OF MASSAGE
• The history of massage is as old as man.
Archaeological studies indicate that even in
prehistoric times, man promoted the general
welfare and acquired protection against injury
and infection through friction in the body.
Would be the beginnings of what today is
meant for massage.

8. • There are also records that the ancient
civilizations such as
Egyptians, Hindus, Greeks, Romans, Chinese
and Japanese, about 300 BC, made references
on the benefits of massage for the well-being.
But the first to recognize the healing
properties of this technique of rubbing the
body were the Chinese, who signed the
earliest literature that has news: the medical
text Nei Ching, written in 2800 BC The word
massage comes from Greek and means
kneading.

9. • After the Chinese, the father of medicine, the
Greek Hippocrates, made use of the therapeutic
properties of massage, which he called
anatripisis, meaning to rub pressing tissues. The
phrase was translated into Latin as frictio and
remained in use in the United States until 1870.
Frictio means rubbing or scrubbing.
• In India, the term used to describe massage was
shampooing. In China, it was Cong Fou, and in
Japan, ambouk.

11. • Check our website about physical therapy and
massage:
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