Various forms of massage, traction, and manipulation have been used in medicine throughout the world for several thousand years. Each modality represents an approach to treatment of the musculoskeletal and other systems sought by a steadily increasing number of people.
While research on each of these modalities continues, a long-standing variable exists that unites them allâ€”the concept of touch. In the 1940s, Rene Spitz reported on infants in foundling homes who, although otherwise healthy and well cared for, failed to thrive and often died in the absence of being held or touched. Kunz and Krieger additionally defined and taught the principles behind the related concepts of healing touch and therapeutic touch in the 1970s.
Although no consensus exists on the complete physiology of massage, traction, or manipulation, these treatment approaches are generally accepted as more than just the interaction of mechanical forces and human anatomy. Touch has a long history of being a natural, essential component of healing and health maintenance.
Synonyms and related keywords:
massage, traction, manipulation, healing touch, Eastern massage, Western massage, therapeutic manipulation, soft-tissue manual therapy, effleurage, petrissage, tapotement, deep friction massage, percussion message, deep pressure, Shiatsu, acupressure, reflexology, auriculotherapy
Wieting & Cugalj 2007