Massage has been a recognised health treatment for over five millennia, making it one of the oldest recorded therapeutic practices in human history.
Traditional Thai Massage developed 2,500 years ago from Indian and Chinese medicine, combined with Buddhist healing traditions. It is taught in temples by monks and used as preventative and restorative medicine, not spa therapy.
Thai massage is traditionally linked to Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, revered as the father of traditional Thai medicine.
Massage re-entered Western medicine through physiotherapy, sports medicine, pain management, mental health & stress reduction. Church attitudes sometimes restricted touch, slowing western development compared to Asia. Today, as a medical therapy, massage has clinical value, for instance, treating:
- Musculoskeletal conditions
- Injuries and fatigue
- Stress, headaches, anxiety, and insomnia
