While massages are often associated with romantic getaways, serene spas, and pure relaxation, therapeutic massages can also help patients heal from serious injuries. Massage therapy is one of the most commonly practiced forms of holistic medicine. Massage therapists, with their vast knowledge of the human body, use specifically designed movements and pressure to relieve pain, help heal injuries, improve circulation, relieve stress, increase relaxation, and aid general health and wellness. While the approaches used by our therapists here at Louisville Sports and Injury Center are rapidly growing in popularity, not many people are aware that massage therapy practices existed over 4,700 years ago. Massage therapy dates back to 2700 B.C. in ancient China. During this time, a book titled “The Yellow Emperor’s Classic Book of Internal Medicine” circulated among acupuncture and acupressure practitioners. Acupuncture involves the use of needles placed at meridian points to promote better health and wellness. Similar to acupuncture, acupressure involves the use of hands, fingers, and sometimes massage tools on precise locations on your body. The only difference is that acupressure does not involve needles. Approximately 200 years later, ancient Egyptians developed reflexology techniques based on the notion that certain areas of the foot are connected with organs throughout the rest of the body. This technique, along with other massage therapy tenets, morphed as time went on. From traditional Chinese medicine practiced by Japanese Buddhist monks around 1000 B.C to treatments affirmed by Hippocrates, the founder of modern medicine, massage therapy has served a vital role in all medical spheres, regardless of culture or location. Modern massage therapy has many health benefits, including improved sleep quality, enhanced relaxation, pain relief, decreased stress and inflammation, decreased blood pressure, injury treatment, and improved mental health. If you want more information about massage therapy or think that this treatment might be right for you, don’t hesitate to give our office a call at 502-451-5959. One of the Oldest Medical Practices The History of Massage Therapy
Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays celebrated throughout the United States. One of the first documented Thanksgiving celebrations took place in 1621 when Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared a feast together. But the banquet, which celebrated the colonists’ first successful harvest, wasn’t just one large meal, nor did it last for only one day; in fact, the feast lasted for three days. In later years, Thanksgiving also lasted for longer than a single meal. During the time of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress chose several days throughout the year to celebrate giving thanks. Then, in 1789, George Washington made the U.S. national government’s first Thanksgiving proclamation. He used this to speak to his fellow American citizens about the Revolution’s satisfactory conclusion and encouraged them to show their thanks for the freedoms they gained. Thanksgiving became a national holiday more than 200 years after its first celebration. It gained this status largely due to the persistence of a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale. Hale was a successful magazine editor, prolific writer of novels and poems, and author of the famous nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” which was first published in her 1830 collection entitled “Poems for Our Children.” In 1827, Hale began a campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. For the next 36 years, she wrote numerous editorials and countless letters to state and federal officials expressing her desire that it gain official status. In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln finally declared it a national holiday, hoping that it would help heal the wounds of the country. Lincoln decided that the holiday would take place on the last Thursday of November. It was celebrated on that day until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in the hopes of increasing retail sales during the Great Depression. However, this plan was very unpopular, and in 1941, the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November. Without the efforts of Sarah Hale, we might not have the pleasure of the Thanksgiving feast we know and love to this day. This year, give thanks for family, good food, and the resolve of one woman who recognized the importance of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. SARAH HALE How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday
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