Indian head massage has been practised in India for thousands of years, with references to the method in Ayurvedic texts. Indian women used it to help keep their hair in good condition, often using various herbs and oils for added benefits. Invented by women, the therapy later spread to barber shops in India, who would use Indian head massage as part of their service. Indian head massage is now widely available both in India and in the UK.

Regular massage during pregnancy has been shown to help reduce back and pelvic discomfort, improve sleep quality, ease swelling in the limbs, support circulation, and promote a calmer emotional state. As the body adapts to the many changes of pregnancy, massage offers both physical relief and valuable time to slow down, reconnect, and restore balance.

Tuina is a very important component of Chinese medicine alongside acupuncture and herbal prescription. However, Tuina can be a complete healing system in itself as not only does it work on muscle groups, joints, sites of pain and poor circulation, but it works the same meridians and points used in acupuncture and employs the same basic theory as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): "Injury or disease causes blockages in the channels of the body. Blockages cause pain."

The Bowen Technique is a gentle, hands-on therapy that uses precise rolling movements over muscles, fascia, and connective tissue to encourage the body to rebalance, repair, and reset itself. Rather than forcing change through pressure or manipulation, Bowen works by stimulating the nervous system and supporting the body’s natural self-regulation processes.

Different forms of bare footed massage are performed all over the world and have been practised for thousands of years. “Ashi” means foot and “atsu” means pressure in Japanese. Ashiatsu has its origins in India where bare footed technique is called Chavutti Thirummal. In USA Ashiatsu has become very popular thanks to R. Hardee, who westernised this treatment and adopted it for use on a traditional massage table and with the help of overhead bars. 

Massage is probably the oldest method of healing, with Hippocrates referencing it in one of his medical texts. Archaeological evidence of the practice of massage has also been found in many ancient civilisations such as China, India, Egypt, Roma and Greece. 

Dr Sarno is an American Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine who has published several best selling books on the subject, such as: Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection and Mind Over Back Pain. He developed the theory of there being a psychological and emotional basis for back pain and symptoms, after studying the behaviour of his own patients. The theory, also called TMS (tension myoneural syndrome), is based on the belief that it is a psychosomatic illness which is causing chronic back, neck, and limb pain, which is not relieved by standard medical treatments. Although his theory has yet to be accepted by mainstream medicine, he has successfully treated and cured thousands of patients based on his theory.

If you are an arthritis sufferer you may be wondering whether massage is a suitable therapy to relieve some of the symptoms of your condition. Thankfully, several recent studies have looked at the effects of massage for arthritis, and we now have a better understanding of whether and how massage works for the symptoms of arthritis.