The Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing describes massage therapy as follows:
“A collection of bodywork modalities designed to improve health through manual manipulation of soft tissues including stroking, kneading, pressing, tapping, and shaking. Intends to improve local circulation, reduce pain, and promote relaxation” (Farlex, 2012).
Massage can be applied with the fingers, hands, elbows, knees, feet, forearm, or a massage device. The use of massage therapy for human wellbeing can be traced back to almost four thousand years ago. Ancient Egyptians, Indians, Chinese, and the Greeks incorporated massage therapy using essential oils to promote relaxation and wellness.
The history of massage therapy dates back thousands of years to ancient cultures that believed in its medical benefits. The first written records of massage therapy are found in China and Egypt. The Yellow Emperor Classic of Internal Medicine, written by the famous Chinese emperor Huangdi around 2600 BC, explains the use of massage therapy and the various techniques (Curran, 2008, para.1). This book was first published in English in 1949 and has become a staple in massage therapy training. It is also often used as a textbook for teaching many other forms of alternative medicine such as acupuncture, acupressure and herbology.
The Egyptian tomb paintings from about 2500 BC show that the Egyptians also used massage therapy for medical purposes. The Egyptians pioneered reflexology and the Greeks and Romans were greatly influenced by the Egyptian studies and traditions. The first known massage therapy traditions come from India around 1500 BC but the practice might have originated as early as 3000 BC. Ayurveda, a holistic approach to health, originated in India almost three thousand years ago, uses plant-based materials to treat the mind, body, and consciousness. One of the principle aspects of Ayurvedic medicine is massage with aromatic oils. For example, jasmine was used as a general tonic for the entire body. The Classical Greek world learned from the Egyptians about the benefits of massage therapy. Hippocrates, known as the father of modern medicine, maintained 2,500 years ago that, “the key to good health rests on having a daily aromatic bath and scented massage” (Worwood, 1991, p. 8).
Per Henrik Ling (1776-1839) from Sweden pioneered the modern scientific massage therapy and developed an integrated system consisting of active and passive exercises and massage. Massage. To teach his methods, Ling established the Royal Central Gymnastic Institute in Sweden in 1813. In the 1850s, two New York physicians who had studied in Sweden, brothers George and Charles Taylor introduced modern, scientific massage therapy. After the Civil War period, two Swedish physicians opened the first clinics for massage in the United States. Doctor Baron Nils Posse operated the Posse Institute in Boston, and Doctor Hartwig Nissen opened the Swedish Health Institute in Washington, D.C. (Medical Dictionary, para. 5).
Massage therapy gained prominence in the United States since the 1960s as an alternative form of medicine. The effects of stress in daily life, often results in disorders such as depression, anxiety, and irritability. This is an area of care in which massage therapy is mainly used, especially in combination with Aromatherapy. Even though it fell out of favor for a period of time, massage therapy has gained popularity as a relaxation and pain relieving mechanism since the 1980s. While the use of western relaxation techniques, such as massage therapy is anticipated to reduce stress it is imperative that this notion is supported by scientific data. The studies with varying themes described below support the correlation between massage therapy and preterm infant weight gain, pain relief, and stress reduction.
Studies done on massage therapy for preterm infants showed that it provides several benefits. In the United States, approximately 11.39% of the infants are born prematurely as of 2013 statistics (National Center for Health Statistics, 2013). Prematurity is also one of the leading causes of infant mortality. Approximately 15.5 billion dollars are spent by the hospitals in the U.S. every year to care for the premature infants. One of the important factors in discharging premature infants from the hospital is weight gain. Several studies have showed that preterm infants that received 5-10 days of massage therapy showed a 21-48% increase in weight gain, and hospital stays of 3-6 days less than control infants (Field, Diego, and Hernandez-Reif, 2010). A research study done in India showed that preterm infants massaged for 5-10 days gained 4.24 grams per day than the control infants (Mathai, Fernandez, Modkar & Kanbur, 2001). At least three other independent groups (Cifra & Sancho, 2004; De Roiste & Bushnell, 1996; Goldstein-Ferber et al., 2002) replicated the weight gain findings further validating that massage therapy does help preterm infants in gaining weight.
The massage protocol used for preterm infants was moderate pressure therapy. It involves moderate stroking (tactile stimulation) and extension and flexion of upper and lower extremities. Studies indicated moderate pressure is critical for weigh gain in preterm infants. Studies were also conducted on the ways of delivering the massage. In one study, preterm infants were assigned to three groups: a group in which professionals performed the massage, a group in which mothers of the infants performed the massage, and a control group. At the end of the 10-day treatment period, the infants in the two treatment groups gained significant weight compared to the control group. This study suggests that mothers were able to achieve the same results as professionals. In addition, it also showed that massage therapy done by mothers resulted in lowering the anxiety and depression symptoms of the mothers (Feijo, Hernandez-Feif, Field, Burns, Valley-Gray & Simco, 2006). Studies also showed that massage therapy using oils such as coconut oil, safflower oil and even synthetic oil also resulted in preterm infants gaining significant weight gain.
Pain management is another area in which massage therapy is used extensively. Pain management is a critical issue for hospitals, especially in acute care setting. Many hospitals now use massage therapy as a part of team based approach to patient care. The Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minnesota, conducted a systematic evaluation of patient hospital experience and found that “tension, stress, pain, and anxiety were key challenges for patients.”
Overall, when handled safely and appropriately, massage therapy can produce a positive effect on the mind and body, and promote an overall wellbeing. The use of massage therapy for health and wellness purposes can be traced back to several thousand years ago, and many of the properties ascribed therapy are still valid today. The variability in the current research done provides the necessary scientific support for the correlation between the use of massage therapy and a sense of wellbeing. Massage therapy is a proven method employed in stress reduction, whether it is physical, mental or chemical induced stress. Although there may be many methods that can be employed to reduce stress, massage therapy with essential oils is the one that reduces stress as well as awakens one’s senses. It is an all-natural method and smells delightful too!