A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON MASSAGE ITS HISTORY, MODE OF APPLICATION AND EFFECTS

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON MASSAGE, ITS HISTORY, MODE OF APPLICATION AND EFFECTS

Here's a little look into the history of massage in the USA from 100+ years ago

This text from 1884 is more realistic in its descriptions and characterizations of massage than I'd expected. Up to a point... I encourage everyone to take a look.

"The pressure of deep massage exerts a simultaneous influence upon all the tissues within its reach, upon the skin, fasciae, muscles, vessels, nerves etc. The skin, by reason of its highly organized structure, is remarkably well adapted for receiving and transmitting the influence of massage." (60-61)

https://books.google.com/books?id=XzkSAAAAYAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=massage&pg=PA2#v=onepage&q=massage&f=false

THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MASSAGE

by Beatrice Mary Goodall- Copestake

There is more sensible, uncomplicated wisdom and solid description of human physiology in this 1919 publication by Beatrice Mary Goodall-Copestake, than in much of our more recent professional publications.

However, this is not a text without flaws. Scientific knowledge has progressed somewhat in the last 100 years.

A note on gender: The female author addresses future female masseuses (her term) throughout the text. This is a marked difference in cultural expectation for who performs massage when compared to 1884's publication by Douglas Graham, MD, who expected that massage was the domain of the (male) physician.

"A good masseuse will never forget that such qualities as tact, sympathy, and a confident manner without aggressiveness are essential to success.