Isn’t it curious that even people who might not otherwise be interested in history want to be a part of it? For example, a recent ad for the ABMP-sponsored Back Pain Summit beckoned, “Be part of massage history!” It was billed as “the single largest event in the history of the massage therapy profession,” with nearly 14,000 people participating. Participation in a historical event has an undeniable attraction for most human beings.
So, why does history tend to be an underappreciated subject, particularly with Americans?
Perhaps it was a dry high school history class or a boring teacher who soured the topic for some, or maybe the past was seen as irrelevant to their current lives—too many distant wars and dates to remember. Maybe the sanitized version of history that tends to be presented to kids makes the subject seem bland.
In contrast, there has been a recent resurgence in the study of family ancestry, or genealogy, which offers a direct and personal connection to the past. It turns out that the closer history gets to our immediate lives, the more fascinating it becomes. Consider for a moment that the history of the massage therapy profession might actually be more relevant and interesting than previously imagined, given that it is our chosen vocation.
As massage and bodywork practitioners, knowing more about our history has several benefits. For starters, it can help us better grasp our individual places in the ongoing evolution of the field. Study of the past can also shed light on the true nature of the profession, clarifying its identity to ourselves and others. In addition, many of the challenges facing us today can be more clearly understood in a historical perspective, leading to better plans for the coming years. Last, but not least, as massage therapy takes its place as a regulated health profession in North America, having a traceable lineage from one generation to the next gives it more legitimacy in the eyes of the general public and other health-care professionals.
The story of the past is not merely nice to know, not just entertaining to read about, but vital to being a mature profession. It is empowering, because it enlarges our vision to include experiences accumulated over time, offers the advantages of hindsight, and confers an earned respectability. Every massage therapist can profit from being better acquainted with the general history of the field, and leaders of professional organizations in particular ought to grasp the historical context of current events before making decisions for the future.
Let’s take a closer look at the four reasons cited for why massage therapy history is important. Along the way, we’ll review some historical highlights and entertain some takeaways for further reflection.

Personal Connection to the Past
All massage and bodywork practitioners have been impacted by the events of former times in ways that might never occur to us. When someone enrolls in a massage therapy school or vocational program, he becomes a link in the chain of manual healers going back centuries. However, each comes into the field at a particular time and place, which colors their personal experience from the start. Each benefits from advancements made by the preceding generation of practitioners. A brief review of the recent past reveals many connections to the present.
Massage therapists made unparalleled progress from 1980 to 2000, after a period of decline in the mid-20th century. There were improvements in education, development of valid credentials, an increase in massage research, and ever-expanding career opportunities. The spa boom was starting to take off, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) was gaining ground, and the wellness movement revived interest in natural health and healing. During that time, massage therapy became a regulated health profession in most states, which both fostered and reflected growing public demand. All of that progress was made possible by massage therapists and bodyworkers who took necessary steps to advance the field. It was at times chaotic and contentious, but in the end, people working together created the favorable environment practitioners enjoy today. A more detailed study of that recent history can support the current generation in recognizing both unfinished business and possible new opportunities for creating a better future.
A short genealogical exercise will provide a better sense of your personal place in history. Think about where you received your initial massage education or, in rare cases these days, who you apprenticed with. Just as your parents and family influenced your personal values and beliefs, your first school and teachers affected your early views about the profession. Recount the history of your school. When was the school founded, and by whom? Who taught your teachers, and what particular ideas or hands-on skills were passed down through them to you? How far back can you trace those links? Was the curriculum treatment- oriented, or holistic, or a combination? Is there a historical angle to that? Consider regulation of massage therapy in your area. Were you required to get a state license to practice when you graduated? How long has your state had licensing? The earliest state to enact licensing was Ohio, in 1915, while most states became regulated in more recent times. Ponder other factors. What were the job opportunities when you started out, and have they expanded over time? Were you respected as a health professional, and has that shifted now? Can you identify ways your personal history has been impacted by external events, such as having access to a new advanced credential?
Takeaway: Your personal experience as a massage therapist has been impacted by historical events related to the massage therapy profession overall; to better “know thyself,” find your connections to the past.

Nature of the Massage Therapy Profession
“Who are we?” is a fundamental question for any profession. Massage therapists have had some lively discussions on social media lately revolving around themes such as: Is massage an art or a science? Is massage therapy a medical treatment or a personal service? Does energy work have a place in our scope? Is bodywork different from massage therapy? What should our relationship be with mainstream health care?
Individuals may have opinions about these issues based on their personal experiences and interests, but it is important to acknowledge that there is a bigger picture to consider—a broader view that takes in the past.
Four historical sketches are presented here to show how knowledge of bygone days can provide perspective on current discussions about the nature of the profession. This is merely a taste of the possibilities.
1. Massage and bodywork practitioners today are descended from a long line of hands-on healers that goes back in time for centuries. Although soft-tissue manipulation and movement techniques remain primary, other practices have been incorporated at different times, such as hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, and other compatible natural methods. Techniques related to energy were adopted in the form of magnetic healing in the 1880s. Magnetism, or vital force, was purported to be transferred to patients by “magnetic masseurs.” Although the term magnetism became obsolete within a few decades, the notion of healing energy being imparted with the hands has never entirely disappeared from the field of massage, even if not universally embraced.
2. A holistic philosophy has endured through generations of manual practitioners. In 19th-century America, holistic principles were carried forward via Per Henrik Ling’s medical gymnastics, known popularly as the Swedish movement cure. According to the underlying theory, the mechanical forces of soft-tissue manipulation and movements were deemed to bring the body, mind, and spirit of the human organism into harmonious balance, resulting in good health or healing. The Swedish system was a natural alternative to drugs and surgery. Significantly, the more medically oriented system called “massage” as developed by Dutch practitioner Johann Georg Mezger was adopted by Ling’s followers, and it was they who promoted the combined system of manual therapy in America. So, even though the modern profession is called “massage therapy,” its philosophical foundation harkens back to the holistic viewpoint of the Swedish system of Ling, which encompassed healing and good health in its scope.
3. The knowledge base of hands-on practitioners has grown and evolved through the years. Tradition and experience were predominant for centuries, but, beginning in the 1700s, science based on observation and measurement began to be valued as another way of exploring the benefits of what was known then as rubbing and friction. At first, individual cases were cited as evidence of effectiveness. Soon, studies became more sophisticated, with controls inserted into experiments. A golden age for massage research, from about 1870 to 1920, coincided with the promotion of drugless healing methods in lieu of regular medicinal treatment. It wasn’t until the 1990s, during another renaissance period for CAM, that massage research began to increase once again.
4. Some final observations involve the historical relationship of manual therapists to mainstream medicine, which is complicated at best. The predecessors of today’s massage therapists worked at different times as physicians’ and surgeons’ assistants, technical specialists to doctors of drugless healing systems, and independent practitioners/healers in their own right. In the late 1800s, masseuses and masseurs could ply their trade under any of these scenarios, but eventually they split into two different professions. After World War I, those who specialized in orthopedic treatments within conventional medicine developed the allied health profession known now as physical therapy. At the same time, Swedish masseuses and masseurs, acting as independent agents, continued the tradition of Ling with massage as a form of natural health and healing. They steadfastly refused to become subservient to medical doctors, although they took referrals from them. They pursued regulation of the massage therapy profession to ensure their independence, maintain their broad scope, and improve standards.
Takeaway: Greater understanding of the history of our predecessors can, through the lens of time, provide a clearer picture of the nature of the massage therapy profession, and form a firmer foundation for present discussions related to the field.

Perspective on Current Challenges
Each generation of massage and bodywork practitioners faces unique challenges. Mentioned earlier, the task of creating a stronger infrastructure for an emerging profession from 1980 to 2000 is a case in point. A perennial challenge faced by practitioners, and addressed by professional organizations, is how to keep massage therapy growing and foster successful careers in the field. History can help shed light on forces that have impacted the economics of the profession in the past.
Massage therapy is currently one of the most sought-after services at spas and is gaining inroads as treatment for a variety of conditions. You might never suspect that in the 1950s and 1960s, massage went through a period of severe decline and was almost snuffed out completely. The term massage parlor, once a common name for an ordinary massage business (similar to beauty parlor or funeral parlor), became a euphemism for a house of prostitution. The social climate was conservative, and anything out of the mainstream was suspect, including formerly respected natural healing methods. Allopathic medical societies waged war against alternative approaches they considered to be quackery. Massage became hard to find in neighborhoods, jobs dried up, and few people entered the field.
All that changed in the 1970s when increased consumer demand breathed new life into the profession. The uptick in demand can be traced to concurrent social changes related to the counterculture and to the human potential and wellness movements that created a more favorable climate for CAM overall. Massage therapy rode the wave of that rising tide, which carried sustained growth in the field. Demand for massage therapy was bolstered by improved confidence in practitioners due to better education, stronger ethical standards, and public recognition of massage therapy as a legitimate health profession. Mounting research into the beneficial effects of massage broadened its scope and opened up additional career opportunities.
A similar renaissance for masseuses and masseurs occurred over a century earlier on the tails of a comparable health reform movement, but it sputtered out within 50 years. Why? The story is too long to go into here, but take note for now that the fortunes of massage practitioners have gone up and down through time, and as long as the marketplace was favorable to natural healing methods, the occupation thrived.
Takeaway: History can provide better perspective about current challenges for massage therapists, especially for perennial concerns inherent in advancing the profession.

A Traceable Lineage
All established professions have a central historical narrative that recounts their ancestry and unifies the group. It places the profession in the context of time and gives it validity by virtue of having a distinct heritage. The storyline is generally known, valued, and passed from one generation to the next. Like tracing royalty through generations, having a well-defined lineage helps establish the legitimacy of an emerging profession such as massage therapy.
Massage and bodywork practitioners today can point to ancient health and healing practices from all over the world that utilized touch and movement techniques, usually in conjunction with herbs, water, and other natural modalities.
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.