Task 6 - Historical, cultural and philosphical approaches to massage

Task 6 – Historical, cultural and philosophical approaches to massage

Comparison of the development of massage in the eastern and western traditions

Eastern massage traditions are based around massage having a holistic view. It looks at the body, mind and spirit and the focus is on restoring, balancing and maintaining a persons life force or Qi (Fritz, 2003; Salvo, 2003; Tuchtan, Tuchtan & Stelfox, 2004). By eastern massage I am referring to massage developed in China, Japan, India and Egypt. Chinese records have illustrated that massage dates back as early as 3000 BC (Salvo, 2003) and Indian massage is said to have been around for about 3000 years (Fritz, 2003). This demonstrates that eastern massage is deeply engrained and has been shaped by years of cultural development. Accupuncture, Anmo and Amma from China, Shiatsu from Japan, Ayurveda from India and Foot massage in Eygpt are the massage techniques developed within those cultures. Tuchtan et al. (2004) state that eastern or asian massage techniques are “based on a different set of principles and philosophy than the western approaches to massage” (p. 8) and Salvo (2003) notes that eastern massage is about creating a partnership between the therapist and client.

Western massage in comparison is based on medical and scientific principles and sees the body as a machine that can be fixed and repaired (Salvo, 2003). The prominent historical figures of western massage all had some form of medical background before focusing on massage as a viable and worthy practice (Calvert, 2002). These include Hippocrates, Asclepius, Galen, Celsus, Ling, Mezger and Kellogg to name a few. The Greek and Roman traditional massage practices noted the importance of touch and focused on people within Bathing Houses and athletes in the Gymnasiums (Salvo, 2003; Fritz, 2003). It is within western cultures that Swedish massage was developed in the 19th Century and is still being practiced in contemporary massage

The role of western historical figures in the development of massage in the western tradition

Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Cos (460-377 BC) was the “first physician in Greek medicine to specifically describe the medical benefits of massage” (Fritz, 2003, p. 14). He is generally recognised as the ‘father of medicine’ (Salvo, 2003; Tuchtan et al., 2004; Calvert, 2002) and shifted the focus of massage from magic and ritual to medicine based on comprehensive observation and logic (Calvert, 2002). The methods Hippocrates developed survived well into the Middle Ages (Fritz, 2003) and many other prominent figures in massage history have based their ideas and practices on the work of Hippocrates.

Galen
Claudius Galenus or Galen (AD 129-199) was one of the people that followed and built on the work of Hippocrates and like Hippocrates was also a Greek physician (Fritz, 2003). Galen went on to describe exactly how the hands should move and the direction they should move in during massage (Calvert, 2002). He also used massage to treat injuries and pain and wrote extensively on the subject. Galen also began to teach his ideas in numerous lectures (Tuchtan et al., 2004) signalling a desire to teach and a desire of others to learn the techniques he developed.

Ling
Pehr Henrik Ling (1776 – 1839) is credited with the development of the popular contemporary massage practice of Swedish Massage (Fritz, 2003; Salvo, 2003; Calvert, 2002; Tuchtan et al., 2004). Lings primary focus was on medical gymnastics and exercise as applications to treat disease and injury (Fritz, 2003; Salvo, 2003). Ling made sure to only take on specific techniques and applications after vigorous testing and observation and even set up a school to continue his teachings and research (Fritz, 2003).

Mezger
Johan Georg Mezger (1839-1909) a Dutch practitioner was very successful in his work to get the mecical and scientific communities to accept massage as a form of treatment (Fritz, 2003; Salvo, 2003; Tuchtan et al., 2004). Mezger presented massage as a form of medical treatment and physical rehabilitation, which is an illustration of what we might refer to as Physiotherapy in contemporary society. He was also the one to introduce the French terms we use today – effleurage, petrissage and tapotment (Fritz, 2003; Salvo, 2003; Tuchtan et al., 2004).

Kellogg
Dr John Harvey Kellogg was an American medical physician that founded the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan (Fritz, 2003; Salvo, 2003; Calvert, 2002). The sanitarium focused on healthy eating and healthy actions by promoting good health and regular exercise. Fritz (2003) notes that Kellogg was interested and practiced the notion of massage and hydrotherapy at the sanitarium. Kellogg was also responsible for popularising massage with the American public. This was achieved through the magazine Good Health that Kellogg published regularly (Fritz, 2003; Salvo, 2003).

Vodder
Dr Emil Vodder (1896-1986) developed manual lymphatic drainage. This is characterised by “light circular motion on the skin to work directly with the lymphatic system” (Tuchtan et al., 2004, p. 19). His work has spread worldwide and he now has an International School.

Travell
Janet Travell is most commonly known for her work on Trigger points and especially in reference to myofascial pain and dysfunction (Salvo, 2003; Tuchtan et al., 2004).

Comparison of Maori massage with western massage

Massage is know in Maori culture as mirimiri and is practiced by Maori healers. There are three main types of massage practiced within Maori culture – romiromi, toto and takahi (Tuchtan et al., 2004). Romiromi is similar to western massage because it uses pinching and squeezing strokes like petrissage in Swedish massage (Tuchtan et al., 2004). Toto is a form of infant massage and takahi involves walking on parts of the body that are injured (Tuchtan et al., 2004) which illustrates the differences between Maori and western massage. These two forms of massage are also different because Maori massage takes a holistic view of the body and looks at Hauora or wellbeing.

Massage scandals of the 1800s and their impact on the massage industry

The massage scandals of the 1800s destroyed the public’s perception and confidence in massage as a legitimate medical practice (Fritz, 2003). The downfall began because of the inconsistent nature of the massage industry. Training institutions were not regulated or monitored and neither were practitioners. Because no standards applied in the massage industry many individuals took advantage of this and contributed to the downfall and negative image of the massage industry. Various massage societies were created in the late 1800s to try and sort out some of the training institutions (Fritz, 2003).

Development of professional massage in New Zealand including MINZI, NZATMP, TMA and MNZ

MINZI or the Massage Institution of New Zealand Incorporated was founded by Bill Wareham in 1985 in Auckland. The focus was on the education of massage therapists and MINZI supports all their members to gain higher qualifications (Tuchtan et al., 2004).

NZATMP of the New Zealand Association of Therapeutic Massage Practitioners was established in the late 1980s by Jim Sandford. It was started with an emphasis that it was a national body to cater for the national professional community (Tuchtan et al., 2004). The NZATMP developed and implemented a programme of education for individuals throughout the country. It is now known as the Therapeutic Massage Association or TMA and its main function is to keep a register of all therapists with a National Diploma of Therapeutic Massage (Tuchtan et al., 2004).

Massage New Zealand or MNZ is a national body for professional massage therapists in New Zealand. As stated on their website (www.massagenewzealand.org), MNZs purpose and mission is to “promote health and wellness in New Zealand (Aotearoa) through quality massage, and advocate the successful development of the association” (Massage New Zealand, 2009). MNZ has developed different levels of membership and outlines a specific Scope of Practice for each membership level. They also have a Code of Ethics and a clearly defined complaints procedure.

Philosophical approaches to massage

Body-mind-spirit or Bodywork therapeutic massage takes into consideration the wholeness of the individual (Fritz, 2003). This type of massage considers the connection between the body, mind and spirit and understands that one may affect the other. This notion of massage is very similar to eastern massage and Maori massage that have been explained above. These concepts of massage take a holistic view of the individual and focus on the whole being and not just the body. Western massage is very different as it is based on scientific and medical approaches to massage.


References

Calvert, R. N. (2002). The history of massage: an illustrated survey from around the world. Vermont: Healing Arts Press.

Fritz, S. (2003). Mosby’s fundamentals of therapeutic massage (3rd ed.). St Louis: Mosby.

Massage New Zealand (2009) Retrieved 26 August, 2009 from http://www.massagenewzealand.org/

Salvo, S. (2003) Massage Therapy: Principles and Practice (2nd ed.). St Louis: Mosby.

Tuchtan, C., Tuchtan, V., & Stelfox, D. (2004). Foundations of massage. Australia: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier.