"The best thing about a massage table is being on one."  ~ Anonymous

 

A little history about massage and the massage table.  There are prehistoric cave paintings from about 15,000 B.C. of massage.  Around 4,500 B.C., Egypt had a  well-developed social structure and people may have used massage at this time. 

In the years around 3,000 B.C. the oldest known book about massage was written by the Chinese Cong-Fu of the Toa-Tse and was translated to French in the 1700's.  Approximately 1,000 B.C., Homer wrote about an oily medium used for massage.  

In Athens, Greece, athletes were massaged prior to their Olympic events.  Julius Caesar used massage therapy to relieve his neuralgia and epileptic seizures.  Lord Francis Bacon observed that massage had benefits enhancing circulation. 

In 1817, Dr. Cornelius E. DePuy, the father of massage therapy in the United States, published his journal on the subject.  Between 1854 to 1920 the field of massage in America rose from an obscure, unskilled trade to a specialty in medical healthcare.  In 1919, Swedish massage was used for rehabilitation of injured soldiers. 

Before the 1920's, devices used for massage tables were called couches, and were truly pieces of furniture.  In 1930, the first portable massage table was developed and was made of a wood frame with metal or wood legs. 

During the 1940's, the face hole cut into the head of a stationary or portable table appeared.  Also during this time, the Battle Creek Company, of Battle Creek, Michigan, manufactured the first lightweight massage table, an aluminum folding portable table. 

During the 1950's, Swedish massage was introduced in the United States.  In the 1980's the face cradle that attaches to the end of the massage table was first introduced.

You may ask yourself, why the history lesson? 
 
I wanted to impress upon you that massage therapy is an old and respected medical practice and RehabMart.com offers professional massage tables to assist practitioners of massage as well as anyone who either works in the massage therapy area or for people who would like to have one at home for personal use. 
 
Rehabart offers specialized massage tables and chairs which are used to position clients during massages. A typical commercial massage table has an easily cleaned, heavily padded surface, and a horseshoe-shaped head support that allows the client to breathe easily while lying face down and can be stationary or portable.
 
An orthopedic pillow or bolster can be used to correct body positioning. 
 
RehabMart.com also carries Massage Chairs. 
 
Chair massage, or seated massage, has been around for centuries and with the ever stressful 21st Century, chair massage has blossomed into a booming practice worldwide. Corporate chair massage, airport massage and massage kiosks are now seen everywhere in public places such as convention centers, shopping malls, and  busy office building lobbies and hotels. 
 
Did you know that the first so-called massage tables were used during the time of the Greeks and Romans, and were marble or wood slabs called plinths?  Thankfully, we now have massage tables that are much more comfortable and portable than marble and wood slabs, and Rehabmart.com offers you a great selection of massage tables at prices you can easily afford.

 Bill Stock
Associate Library Editor for Rehabmart
and
Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Team Leader & CEO