The modality of massage itself has been around for thousands of years. There are records that have been documented in China that date back to 2700 B.C. The Japanese, who recognize massage as one of the foremost modalities of healing, have some records that are dated around 100 B.C. that are still in existence.
Per Henrick Ling (Peter Henry Ling) of Sweden is known pretty much as the “Father of Massage”. He lived in the 1800’s and through his own experience with pain in his own body, he developed a system of movements and strokes that assisted him in his own healing which he continued to develop over time and which contributed to the development of the technique that we know as Swedish Massage today.
In days of old, warriors were known to massage their horses before they went into battle. The current Equine Massage was essentially developed by a man named Jack Meagher (pronounced ‘Mar”) in the 1970’s. He was a physical therapist and is known for the development of Sports Massage in humans and animals alike.