Massage

It is impossible to give preference to one or another people in the authorship of the invention of massage. It originated and developed in parallel in different countries and continents.

Massage originated along with other types of traditional medicine in ancient times. There is information about the use of massage by the peoples of the islands of the Pacific Ocean , and this indicates that the massage was familiar to primitive peoples. Massage was widely distributed among the people of Indonesia . It was used in the form of general or local effects and included kneading, pushing, rubbing and stroking.

Massage in its original form, that is, as a simple rubbing, stroking, arose as a therapeutic tool at the dawn of human development. According to legends, people, trying to ease the pain, made rubbing and tapping the place of injury.

Already in the 6th century BC, medical gymnastic schools for the training of doctors existed in ancient China , where massage was taught as one of the disciplines. Hieroglyphic inscriptions on sarcophagi and pyramids, and ancient papyruses, indicate that 4000 years BC. e., the ancient Assyrians , Persians , Egyptians used massage for therapeutic and recreational purposes.

The explicit mention of massage is also traced in the writings of Hippocrates (460–377 BC):

“ In many things, the doctor must be experienced, and no less in a massage, for massage can bind the joint too relaxed and soften the joint very tight. Rubbing causes tightness or relaxation of the tissues, leads to fullness or emaciation, soft, gentle and moderate rubbing thickens the tissues, and dry and frequent rubbing tightens them . ”

In the countries of the East, the eminent scientist Avicenna (Ibn Sina) in his writings “The Canon of Medicine” and “The Book of Healing” described a strengthening, relaxing, preparatory, restorative massage ... In India and China, the massage was performed by clergymen.

Massage was known in ancient times. In China, it is described for 3000 years before Christ, in India for 700 years. The Romans used massage after the fighting to destroy bruising and traumatic edema on the body. In Greece , from the time of Hippocrates, massage was viewed as a means that truly and well helps with many diseases.

Students of Hippocrates indicate that massage serves as a temporary remedy for the destruction of effusions and thickenings in the tissues. In the first centuries of Christianity, the massage was abandoned, it was even banished, looked at it, like the rest of paganism . Only 300 years ago, massage work by doctors began to reappear, in which its healing properties were indicated for many sufferings of the joints , for paralysis and other diseases.

But despite these works, the massage nevertheless remained aloof from medicine , it was in the hands of people who had no idea about its effect on the body, nor about the organism itself, nor about the diseases for which massage was used to treat. As a result, there was no scientific indication for the purpose of the massage, and the massage itself, as a science, did not exist.

The word "massage" now means a method of treating many diseases with the help of systematic manual techniques: stroking, rubbing, kneading, tapping and vibrating or shaking.

The first one, who took seriously the influence of massage and body movements on the human body and spirit, was a Swedish doctor Peter-Heinrich Ling, born in 1776 .

Heinrich Ling, the son of a priest, was preparing to continue his father’s activities. After graduating from the course at the University of Uppsala , he went to Europe, accompanying his distinguished compatriot. On the road, Ling fell ill, according to the description, with rheumatism , which he had been treated by many famous doctors, but had not received healing. In Copenhagen, Ling met two French immigrants and took fencing lessons from them. Fencing lessons eased his rheumatic pains, after which he fully engaged in the study of gymnastics and, thoroughly and thoroughly familiarizing himself with anatomy and physiology , wrote a gymnastics textbook.

Further, through long labors, he managed to open the central royal gymnastics institute in Stockholm . This institution exists to date. Day after day, patients gather in its walls for treatment, school-age children for teaching gymnastics, and pupils and students to study gymnastics.

But Ling handled, mainly, the question of the theory of movements, while the massage is due to Dr. Metzger from Germany , who, through his personal, highly successful work on the sick, made the whole of Europe speak about himself and gained many followers in the person of outstanding doctors.

German professor Mozengeyl was one of the first to start working on the physiology of massage. Through experiments on animals, he put the matter of massage on a scientific basis.

Over the past 30 years, massage therapy has taken a strong position in medicine; many of the prominent doctors in Germany, France, England and America are engaged in it.

In Russia, massage has long been used in baths as a simple rubbing. Currently, it is used as a therapeutic agent for many diseases ^[1] .

While there are only four main types of massage - sports, medical, hygienic and cosmetic, there are a large number of systems that can perform the functions of these types of massage and it is quite difficult to accurately classify them. For example, the term therapeutic can be called almost any type of massage, and between hygienic and prophylactic massage there are more theoretical than practical differences.

Therapeutic massage is used at all stages, both in the process of treatment and after it - in the rehabilitation phase, and practically has no limits to use. It helps to cure diseases:

• Cardiovascular system ;
• Nervous system ;
• Musculoskeletal system ;
• Gastrointestinal ;
• Respiratory tract (percussion massage);
• Gynecological diseases;
• Urological diseases;
• Metabolic disorders ;

and many others.

The following massage systems are distinguished: domestic, Swedish, Finnish, oriental. There are various types of massage. Under the type refers to the use of various techniques for solving a specific problem, or massage used in a separate group (anti-cellulite, sports (preparatory, rehabilitation), children, preventive, hygiene). By type of execution is divided into manual and hardware. On application - the general and local. As for the purpose, it can be divided into the following types: medical, hygienic, cosmetic, sports, reflex, children, as well as self-massage.

Massage technique - a set of techniques, effects, applied in accordance with certain rules (classical, Spanish, Finnish, canned , Thai , point , periosteal, honey , stone).

In the Russian classical school of massage, there are 4 basic and several additional methods of conducting massage and their varieties:

1. Stroking : - a mechanical effect on biological tissue by the hands of a massage therapist with a constant pressure, not exceeding the severity of the hand, for one pass, in a centripetal direction;
2. Rubbing : this is a mechanical effect on biological tissue by the hands of a massage therapist with constant pressure at the level of pain sensitivity for one pass, performed without taking into account centripetal tendency;
3. Kneading : - a mechanical effect on biological tissue by the hands of a massage therapist with rhythmically varying pressure from zero to the level of the pain sensitivity threshold, performed spirally, in a centripetal direction;
4. Shock and vibration techniques : - rhythmic mechanical vibrational effects on biological tissue by the hands of a massage therapist with a variable rhythm, performed both longitudinally and transversely. Example of execution: in the form of clapping the palm of the hand, chopping with the edge of the palm (intermittent vibration).

It should be noted that within each method, its types are distinguished. So stroking can be planar (a tight palm easily glides over the skin surface), grasping continuous (massaged area, often distal extremity, evenly covered around and made slow movements towards the center of the limb), grasping intermittent (movements of a continuous look are replaced by weakening force pressure - a kind of pulsating mode).

Rubbing emit comb-like and rake-shaped. The comb is produced by the middle phalanges of the fingers, the rake-shaped is produced by the pads of the distal phalanges of the fingers, slightly divorced to the sides. The additional method of rubbing - pinching - massaged area is captured so that it is located between the thumb and the rest of the fingers tightly brought together.

Kneading can be continuous - hands are in the same plane, but do not touch. Tissues are deeply captured, with one hand shifted from themselves, with the other at this time - towards themselves, then - vice versa. Movement at the same time smoothly flow from one direction to another. Intermittent kneading is performed similarly to the continuous one, but movements are spasmodic.

Vibration can also be intermittent and continuous. An unbroken, stable one is isolated — the arm is not moved from the massaged area during the massage, and the labile arm is not removed, but is moved along a part of the body. Intermittent vibration is performed with the tips of the fingers or with the whole palm, while the hand of the masseur is temporarily detached from the massaged area.

Percussion techniques - patting, tapping and chopping. The clapping is done by the plane of the palm with a pressed thumb. Movement of hands alternately. Binging around is done with the tips of your fingers or with your fist (from the side of your little finger). Chopping - with an edge of the hand, from the side of the ulna, the fingers while relaxed and slightly separated from each other. It should be noted that the drums, despite their terrible name, should not be painful. The time of their exposure is minimal compared to other massage techniques.

1. Massage is used in almost all medical institutions, as well as beauty salons.
2. Also, massage is used in sports practice.
3. Erotic massage is used only in specialized erotic massage parlors.

In some cases, massage may be contraindicated (check with your doctor if you have any doubts):

Massage tables

Massage tables are used to create a specific position of the patient during the massage. A typical commercial massage table is easy to clean, has a soft surface and a horseshoe-shaped headrest that allows the client to breathe freely while lying face down. Tables can be stationary or portable. Homemade versions of massage tables are often lighter in weight and fold. During the massage, an orthopedic pillow or roller is also used to change the position of the body.

Massage chairs

Ergonomic massage chairs serve the same functions as massage tables. Chairs can be stationary or portable. Massage chairs are easier to transport than massage tables. During the massage, customers do not undress. Because of these two factors, massage chairs are often used at festivals, in offices, shopping centers and other public places.

Massage chairs were developed in 1984 by David Palmer and Serge Bouyssou. The original chairs were made of wood and weighed 28 pounds . In 1986, production of chairs on Living Earth Crafts was launched. Subsequently, the massage chairs were improved by Scott Breyer and John Fanuzzi. The design of the chairs became metal, its weight dropped to 14 pounds, and adjustment mechanisms appeared. The updated model Quicklite Massage Chair in 1989 began to produce Golden Ratio Woodworks. Subsequently, other manufacturers began to produce massage chairs ^[2] .

Massage Chairs

Massage chairs are devices for hardware, automated massage. Appeared in the 1940s in Japan.

• Tantra massage
• Thai massage
• Holistic Pulsation Massage

Author's techniques

• Massage according to the method of Vojta

• Eryomushkin M.A. Massage history - Rostov n / a : Phoenix, 2007. - 187 p.
• Pogosyan M.M. "MASSAGE". - OAO Publishing House Soviet Sport, 2007. - p. 750.
• Goldin E.A., Moysyuk L.M., Zakidysheva Yu.E. Self massage. Health and wellness with their own hands. - M .: “Williams” , 2005. - p. 160. - ISBN 5-8459-0763-2 .
• Dubrovsky V.I., Dubrovskaya N.M. A Practical Guide to Massage. - M .: "STEP", 1993. - 448 p. - ISBN 5-86001-004-4 .
• M.A. Eremushkin. Basics of manual massage technique. Series: Quality of Life. - Rostov on Don: "Phoenix", 2007. - 188 p. - ISBN 978-5-222-12267-9 .