10 Facts About Massage
You might think you know a lot about massage... but these facts may surprise you!
1. When a person gets a massage, their body relaxes immediately and the stress level in the body is reduced. Furthermore, one hour of massage has the same effect on your body as seven to eight hours of good sleep.
2. Touch is the first sense that develops during gestation, and is the most finely tuned sense a
human baby has at birth. It is also typically the last sense to fade in the elderly. Touch can
lower blood pressure, reduce the heart rate, and diminish likelihood of depression. Touch also
releases endorphins, which are natural pain killers.
3. The word “massage” was first used in England in the 15 th century.
4. The skin is the largest organ in the human body! It protects our internal organs and helps us to experience the outside world through cutaneous (skin) receptors. These receptors sense things like temperature, vibration, pain, pressure, and touch. Without these skin receptors, we would not be able to enjoy things like massage.
5. When we get a massage, our skin receptors send signals though the nerves to the brain, where we process physical sensation. Signals travel though the nerves at the speed of 390 feet per second, allowing us to feel everything instantaneously.
6. In Korea, only the blind or visually impaired can legally call themselves massage therapist, everyone else are called by different titles such as practitioner or masseuse. .
7. Julius Caesar used massage as a treatment for epilepsy.
8. There is a type of massage called Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) which supports healthy
function of the lymphatic system. MLD is particularly useful for cancer patients affected by
lymphedema, who experience a buildup of fluid in various body regions.
9. Certain massages are done over clothing, such as sports massage, shiatsu, and Thai massage.
10. The first year that the Olympics officially offered massage therapy and bodywork as a core
medical service was 1996, in Atlanta.