Massage -The word comes from the French
massage "friction of kneading," and is the treatment
and practice of manipulation of the soft body tissues with
physical, functional, i.e. mechanical, medical/therapeutic, and
in some cases psychological purposes and goals. It is thought
that the word possibly from Latin massa "mass, dough"
or from Arabic massa "to touch, feel, handle".
Massage involves manipulating and acting the patient's body with
pressure (structured, unstructured, stationary, and/or moving),
tension, motion, or vibration done manually or with mechanical
aids. Muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, skin and other
connective tissue are the main target.
