Massage & Bodywork

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2016

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In addition, the massage therapy profession in North America has a direct connection to the natural healing traditions of Europe. An outline of that backstory is presented here, identifying the predecessors of massage therapists today as major archetypes that arose in the past four centuries. The most direct lineage begins with the caregivers and folk healers of colonial times, who came to North America from Europe and used the simple techniques of rubbing and friction in the larger context of their work. They included women tending to their families, old women and nurses caring for the sick and injured of their villages, midwives delivering babies, and bonesetters treating orthopedic problems. In the 18th century, surgeons began to hire women adept at manual treatment for rehabilitation of their patients. Thus the new occupational category of rubber was born. Men and women rubbers also developed private practices as independent agents. A new breed of manual therapist called the medical gymnast brought Ling's Swedish system to America in the mid-19th century. Medical gymnasts studied anatomy as the foundation of their methods, and had two years of schooling, including clinical training. A few decades later, masseuses and masseurs introduced a more sophisticated system of soft-tissue manipulation developed in Amsterdam that was eventually combined with the Swedish movements. Specialists in the combined approach kept the designation masseuse or masseur, and also incorporated aspects of hydrotherapy and magnetic healing into their scope. Old-fashioned rubbers were replaced by the better-educated masseuses and masseurs by the beginning of the 20th century. Swedish masseuses and masseurs of the early 1900s maintained the tradition of natural healing in the practice of physiotherapy formulated by their predecessors. They had a broad scope that ranged from promoting good health to treatment and rehabilitation, and preserved their independence from mainstream medicine. As time went on, Swedish masseuses and masseurs rebranded themselves as massage therapists and continued to professionalize by improving educational and ethical standards, and seeking regulation of the field. Many small Swedish massage businesses were successful enterprises until their fortunes waned in the 1950s. A host of different approaches to manual therapy emerged in the 1970s that introduced fresh ideas and innovative hands-on skills. Systems of manual healing from all over the globe found welcome in America during the ensuing new age. These various approaches were grouped under the name bodywork, and their practitioners were called bodyworkers. Massage therapists eventually assimilated many ideas and skills from various bodywork systems, and the scope of the larger field came to include massage and bodywork. The resulting massage therapy profession, rooted in European tradition, but with a broader vision, continues to advance the tradition of natural and hands-on healing that has developed over the centuries. This nutshell rendition of massage therapists' lineage provides a starting point from which to expand. A more comprehensive account, as presented in my book, fills in the details, including pivotal events, triumphs and failures, interesting personalities, and all of the fascinating stuff of history that is best understood in context. Takeaway: Massage therapists are the latest practitioners of the age-old tradition of hands- on healing that has grown in knowledge and skill over time in a continuous lineage to become the health-care profession that it is today. FINAL THOUGHTS I hope you have been persuaded, even just a little, that learning more about the history of massage therapy is worth your while. You can find your place in the story of manual therapists who have brought so much good to humanity over centuries. The fascinating accounts of earlier hands-on treatments and former beliefs, and biographies of our predecessors, enrich and inspire. Old photos from the past particularly touch the heart, as a look at those who did the work of massage therapy in former times is, in the end, really a look at ourselves. Patricia J. Benjamin, PhD, LMT, is the author of The Emergence of the Massage Therapy Profession in North America: A History in Archetypes (Curties- Overzet Publications, 2015). Contact her at pat_benjamin@sbcglobal.net. THE E VOLUTION OF MASSAGE 1962 1992 1991 The Esalen Institute, birthplace of the Human Potential Movement, is founded in California. National certification for massage therapists is introduced. The Touch Research Institute is founded at the University of Miami School of Medicine to scientifically prove the benefits of massage.

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