Massage is probably the oldest healing art, practised in virtually all cultures, since people have instinctively rubbed or probed around painful body areas. Records and depictions date back to the Egyptians. Chinese medicine, combining manual handling and pressure points with breathing and physical exercise, and Indian ayurvedic medicine, combining massage with herbal treatments, have been practised continually for five millennia. These healing systems were based on the notion of regulating and promoting "bio-energy" flow.

In the first half of the 20^th century massage was increasingly used as part of physical therapy for rehabilitation, particularly during and after the two World wars. In the second half of the 20th Century many alternative "holistic" therapies became popular, returning to, or drawing from, the ancient "energetic" systems of the East, such as acupuncture, which Western medicine has begun to accept, even without completely understanding how it works.

                                            

More conventional "hands on" techniques have developed from, or in parallel with, Swedish based massage. These have extended the range and detail of its manipulation of the body’s circulatory systems and musculature and connective tissue. Some types emphasise the direct manipulation of the skeleton. Still others work with the nervous system by engaging the subject’s sensory awareness and active participation in the therapy, rather than their passive recipiance.

Three types of massages available at Inner Chord ('Remedial', 'Sports' and 'Relaxation' ) are described for your information. Just click the appropriate page for each therapy.  A description of a typical clinic appointment is also available for your perusal.