The information
in this timeline is from many sources, mainly massage textbooks, massage
books and massage school manuals. There are many contradictions in
the various sources and much misinformation included in those sources. So
that means that this chart is quite inaccurate even though you will find the
same information in various sources. I know little about history myself. This information will hopefully
give some background and intrigue your interests to pursue more information
on the history of massage, bodywork and other related modalities.
3000 BC- Chinese:
Cong-Fu of the Toa-Tse. Oldest known book written about massage.
Translated to French in 1700’s.
2760- Nei Ching describes therapeutic touch
2500 BC – Egyptians created reflexology.
2000 BC- First Writings
about Massage
1800 BC- Ayurvedic.
Art of Life book that included massage techniques. In India, the
focus was on sensual massage aspects. Ayur-Veda is a code of life and it deals with rebirth, renunciation,
salvation, soul, purpose of life, maintenance of mental health, prevention and treatment of diseases.
1600 B.C.- in Egypt the first record of chemotherapy
being employed as a treatment for cancer
1555 BC- A medical papyri contains remedies for all
types of illnesses and the methods of application are similar to the ones used in Aromatherapy and Herbal
medicine today.
|
The History of Massage:
An Illustrated Survey from around the world by Robert Calvert,
founder Massage Magazine
For the real history of Massage. Robert has informed me that many of the
sources which this timeline comes from are inaccurate. His passion
for history and massage are evident in this book. Read my full
review...
|
1000 BC- Homer wrote about an oily medium used for
massage
776 BC-
Olympic Games. Athletes massaged prior to their events.
604-531 BC - The founder of Taoism is believed to be
Lao-Tse
500 BC- Herodicus-
prescribed gymnastics to heal. Considered to be the founder of medical
Gymnastics.
460-380 BC- Hippocrates
was
taught by Herodicus. Used Friction to treat sprains and dislocations
(called anatripsis-Greek for friction). Thought that disease resulted
from natural causes and the body has the power to heal itself. Wrote
code of ethics that became the Hippocratic Oath. Hippocrates said: hard rubbing binds…much rubbing
causes parts to waste…and
moderate rubbing makes them grow.
200 BC- Greek physician Galen used natural magnets
to relieve pain in treating many illnesses.
200 BC- The Huangdi Nei Jing (Yellow Emperor's Inner
Classic) is the earliest surviving canonical text of traditional Chinese medicine. Anmo is referred to in
30 different chapters of the Nei Jing.
100-44 BC- Romans.
Julius Caesar used Massage therapy to relieve his neuralgia and epileptic
seizures. Was thought to have been “Pinched” every day.
130 AD- 201 AD - Galen.
Originally from Greece. Physician for the school of gladiators who
were rubbed before fighting. Wrote book on manual medicine.
90 BC – Chinese created acupuncture.
25 BC- 50 AD-
Aulus Cornelius Celsius. Roman Physician. Wrote De Medicina (8
textbooks with a lot of information on massage).
100’s AD – First schools of massage were developed
in china
228 AD-337 AD-
The Roman Emperor Constantine condemned the baths and gymnasiums as he
thought they added to the abuse of sex.
589 AD-617 AD-
Sui Dynasty already had knowledge of Massage used as therapy.
600’s – Japanese developed shiatsu (finger pressure
or acupressure), anma is massage in Japanese.
980 AD-1037 AD- Avicenna, Persian medic, wrote the Canon of
Medicine during the crusades. May have been the first used the process known as distillation to distill essence of rose, although it
probably took many years to perfect the process
1300-1368- Guy deChauliac
wrote a book on surgery mentioning bodywork as an adjunct to surgery.
1368-1644 In the Ming Dynasty, pediatric massage
(which, for the first time, was referred to as "tuina") evolved into a highly systematic treatment
modality which is still popular today.
1517-1590- Ambroise
Pare, French barber surgeon, raised awareness of the use of massage
1569- Girolamo Mercuriale wrote the first sports
medicine book.
1564-1626- Lord Francis
Bacon observed that massage had benefits enhancing circulation.
1608-1679 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli studied
muscular contraction.
1660-1742 - Prussia.
Friedrich Hoffman, physician to King of Prussia recommended rubbing and
gymnastics for the royal court.
1742-1823 -
John Grosvenor, English surgeon practiced healing with hands.
1776-1839 - Per Henrik
Ling- fencing master and gymnast studied massage after he cured himself
of rheumatism in his arm. Developed a system of
Medical Gymnastics.
Per
Henrik ling is not the father of swedish massage!!
1800's-Reiki is believed to date back to early
Tibetan healing practices. Discovered in the 1800's by a Japanese philosopher and Christian seminary
educator, Dr. Mikao Usui
1813- Per Henrik Ling
formed the Royal Gymnastic Central Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
His students carried on his work after his death.
1828-1917- American osteopathic medicine was begun
by Andrew Taylor Still. For more information see
www.meridianinstitute.com
in their early
manual medicine collection.
1837 - Ling’s disciple,
M. LeRon brought Movement Cure to Russia, St. Petersburg.
1839-1909 - Johann Mezger. Holland. Brought medical massage to scientific community.
Started using the terms effleurage, petrissage and tapotement.
1850s- scientific massage therapy was introduced in
the United States by two New York physicians, brothers George and Charles Taylor, who had studied in Sweden.
1856 - Mathias Roth,
English physician, taught Charles Fayette Taylor and George Henry Taylor
who brought massage to the US
1852-1943 - John
Harvey Kellogg, Battle Creek Sanitarium used massage and hydrotherapy.
Published magazine called "Good Health"
1850s- Karl von Reichenbach discovered kerosene and
paraffin
1879 - Douglas Graham-described
lomi lomi and wrote a history of massage. May have been first to use massage
in USA.
1880 - Mary Putnam
Jacobi and Victoria A White in New York City. Medical Doctors
and professors who researched the benefits of massage and ice packs in
the management of anemia.
1884 - Professor
Charcot. French Physician taught Sigmund Freud. Though French
doctors should use massage more.
1884 - Massage Scandals
in Europe. Physicians became skeptical of claims made by massage
therapist and accused practitioners of stealing patients.
1894 - Society of
Trained Masseuses formed in Britain. Set up study of massage along with
prerequisites for education and criteria for school recognition.
1895 - Sigmund Freud.
Used Massage Therapy to treat hysteria. Studies in Hysteria. Postulated
that what we did not or will not confront in our lives would be buried
in the body in the unconscious mind.
1895
-Harvey Kellogg -"The Art of Massage" -Full text available online at
The
Meridian Institute.
1899 - Sir William Bennet- Started a massage department at St. George’s Hospital in London.
1800's-Canadian Deep Muscle This technique addresses
specific muscles and muscle groups. The practitioners are trained to fix specific problems. It is a
fundamental technique that offers fast results for both pain and stress. This form of cross fiber massage
was first written about in the late 1800's in New York City.
1900 - Albert Hoffa-
wrote book
“Technike der Massage”.
1900s early- Jin shin jyutsu, the "art of circulation awakening," was developed in Japan by Jiro
Murai and brought to the United States in the 1960s by Mary Iino Burmeister.
1900's early- The Alexander Technique was developed
by an Australian actor F.M. Alexander
1907 - Edgar Ferdinand
Cyriax- Used Ling’s Swedish Movement Cure and Mechanotherapeutics.
1907-Naprapathy originated by a chiropractor in
Chicago. This also concerns connective tissue.
1913 - Dr. William
Fitzgerald rediscovered Reflexology and called it Zone Therapy.
1917- James Mennell.
London. St. Thomas Hospital. Did physical treatment by movement,
manipulation and massage.
W.W.I- Swedish massage
used for rehabilitation of injured soldiers.
1927 - New York State Society of Medical Massage
Therapists (first massage association)
1929 - Elizabeth
Dicke, German physical therapist created “Bindgewebs massage”
or connective tissue massage. Used reflex zones.
1930’s - Hospitals
staffed Physical Therapists who were doing massage.
1930- Neuromuscular
Therapy created by Stanley Leif. For a more detailed history of
Neuromuscular Therapy see
Judith
Walker Delaney's website
1932 -
Emil Voder.
Danish physiologist created Manual Lymph Drainage.
1934 - Wilhelm
Reich - Austrian psychoanalysis. Freud’s student. Used Somato
techniques to dissolve muscular armor. Attempted to cure neuroses by releasing
their corresponding muscle tensions by using breath, movement and physical
manipulation. The community was outraged at the thought of using physical
contact. He was sent to prison for his conflicts and died there.
Bioenergetics
created by Alexander Lowen, emerged from Reich’s work.
Also wrote "Joy
- The surrender of the body to life",
Depression and the Body: The Biological Basis of Faith and Reality
"Depression has become so common that one psychiatrist even describes it as a "perfectly normal" reaction, provided, of course, it does not "interfere...,
The
"Language of the Body".
1937-A French chemist, Rene Maurice
Gattefosse, began his research into the healing powers of essential oils after burning his hand in his
laboratory and immersing in it in lavender oil and being impressed by how quickly the burn healed. He
published a book about the anti -microbial effects of the oils and coined the word Aromatherapy.
1939 - The Florida State Massage Therapy Association
Inc. (FSMTA) was first organized on June 15, 1939 one of the oldest massage organization, with 85 charter
members. The first Massage Act was passed by the Florida Legislature in 1943.
1940 – James Cyriax,
son of Edgar Ferdinand Cyriax, and British Osteopath, created deep transverse
friction.
1943 - Chicago
American Association of Masseurs and Masseuses formed. Later
to become American Massage Therapy Association. Dues were
$.50.
1949 - Massage Registration
Act formulated by AMM.
1944 - Harold Storms-
Storms technique for fibrositic nodules.
1950’s -
Francis Tappan and Gertrude Beard wrote books and articles on
massage techniques.
1952 - Janet Travell
researches Triggerpoints.
1952-Hoshino Therapy developed by Tomezo Hoshino,
Hoshino Therapy is an official medical therapy in Argentina.
1956 - Margaret Knott
and Dorothy Vass wrote a book called “Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation”.
1960’s - Albert Baumgartner
used Massage in Athletics.
1960’s – Esalen
became a center to explore human potential. Ida Rolf did her
first trainings there. Deane Juhan worked there. Bernie Gunther
trained people to do massage.
1964 - Applied Kinesiology was founded by Chiropractor George Goodheart
1966 - Raymond
Nimmo-Wrote book
" The Receptor Tonus Method ", which came from
his work with
"noxious generative points".
1960's late- John Barnes,developed Myofascial
Release Therapy
1971-Core Energetics Started by Dr. John Pierralcos
in 1971, core energetics adds a more spiritual aspect to bioenergetics.
Core
Energetics: Developing the Capacity to Love and Heal
by John C Pierrakos
1972 - Moshe Feldenkrais, writes
"Awareness Through Movement"
which follows up
to his 1949 publication The Body and Mature Behavior.
The Potent Self: A Study of Spontaneity and Compulsion
by Moshe Feldenkrais, Michaeleen Kimmey . Studies
of sensory awareness and movement re-education somewhat based on F.M. Alexander's
work.
1973-Zero Balancing was developed by osteopath and
acupuncturist Dr. Fritz Smith
1976-Myotherapy
(book) developed by Bonnie Prudden
1977- Aston-Patterning is developed by Judith Aston (form of rolfing)
1978- Joseph Heller started Hellerwork (form of
rolfing) www.hellerwork.com
www.www.josephheller.com
1978-Soma Neuromuscular Integration developed by
Bill Williams, Ph.D, one of the first students of Ida Rolf
1980’s - Association
of Bodywork and Massage Practitioners formed.
1980s-Watsu (water therapy) was developed by Harold
Dull
1980’s-Taws Method (Soft Tissue Release) was
developed by Stuart
Taws (his website), a British sports rehabilitation therapist now residing in America
1981 - Lauren Berry,
a physical therapist and mechanical engineer, recorded his methods of manipulating
joints, "The Berry Method, Volume I"
1981- Lawrence
H. Jones
identifies tenderpoints and develops "Strain- Counterstrain"
techniques of treating points.
1983 - Janet
Travell writes book. with David Simons. "Myofascial Pain and
Dysfunction: The Triggerpoint Manual : Volumes I & 2
1990’s- David
Palmer creates and markets On Site Massage using a massage chair.
www.touchpro.org
1990- protocol for fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS)
defined by the American College of Rheumatology
1991 -
Touch
Research Institute
created.
1992 - National Certification
. see also: licensing and
legislation issues
2001- CAM law activated in Minnesota
