Famous massage therapists

Frederick Mathias Alexander (1869-1955) was an Australian actor who developed the Alexander Technique, a therapy that aims to improve physical and psychological well-being by overcoming chronically held tension patterns; and by facilitating natural posture reflexes, balance and movement. Alexander believed that incorrect posture and misuse of the body causes spinal curves to deform and muscles to shorten and harden—and may result in headaches, backache, fatigue, poor coordination and damage of the body’s natural reflexes. His contribution stimulated successive generations of movement, bodywork and educational theories and practices.

 John F. Barnes, P.T., (1939-present) developed myofascial release techniques that are taught worldwide. Barnes advanced traditional physical therapy methods of myofascial release into a systematic and comprehensive form of therapy that was translatable to a much wider population of practitioners. His unwinding techniques have been copied and advanced by numerous other therapists.

Gertrude Beard, R.N., P.T., (1887-1971) and Elizabeth Wood, P.T., (est. 1910-1965) co-authored the classic text, Massage Principles and Techniques (1964). Beard’s Massage Principles and Techniques is a second edition of the original classic text. Both books are still cited as references to massage history, technique, principles and effects. Beard was an army nurse during World War I. Afterward she worked and taught at the Wesley Hospital in Chicago and was a professor of physical therapy at Northwestern University Medical School. Wood was a colleague and friend of Beard’s for many years at the school.

Ben E. Benjamin, Ph.D., (est. 1942-present) wrote the first significant material about professional ethics for the field of massage and bodywork. His work was highly influential in initiating a national movement toward examining and further developing the field of ethics. Benjamin’s own bodywork system, The Benjamin System of Muscular Therapy, was influenced by Alexander, Wilhelm Reich and James Cyriax.