History of Massage Therapy

History of Massage Therapy

History of Massage Therapy

Massage Therapy, believe it or not, has been around thousands of years. The first written records of massage therapy are found in China and Egypt around 2700 BC. Many ancient cultures believed that there were many medical benefits that the human body could obtain from a therapeutic massage. The roots of modern, scientific massage therapy go back to Per Henrik Ling (1776–1839), a Swede, who developed an integrated system consisting of massage and active and passive exercises. Modern, scientific massage therapy was introduced in America in the 1850s by two Physicians, brothers George and Charles Taylor, who had studied in Sweden. The first clinics for massage therapy in America were opened by two Swedish physicians after the US Civil War as a way of providing healing for soldiers that suffered terrible injuries along with stress from the war. Although there was a time when Massage therapy fell out of favor, after the 1960’s there as been a huge movement in a different way as a tool for relaxation and alternative healing. It is used by conventional, as well as alternative, medical communities and many health providers are including massage therapy as covered services. Here at Mountain Serenity Massage Therapy, we use the same massage techniques that have been around for thousands of years to bring healing and relaxation to you today. We implement principles and practices meant to bring you healing, physically and even mentally.