In the last 25 years, massage has risen in popularity in the United States. Especially important in this rise of popularity are the individuals who are looking for alternative and complementary therapies (e.g., diet, exercise, herbal remedies, acupuncture, acupressure, massage) to supplement their medical treatments and create a positive impact on their health. Massage has been shown to be beneficial for many people. As a consequence of this increase in popularity, the profession has also grown during this time. In 1988 the AMTA pushed for the development ofnational certification, which came in 1992 with the independent National Certification Ex­ amination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. Massage therapy has become a respected and much-used allied health care profession. According to Eisenberg et al’s Trends inAlternative Medicine Use in the United States, 1990-1997, mas­ sage therapy was the third most prevalent type of alternative and complementary medicine used by adults in the United States in the 1990s. New uses for massage therapy are being discovered daily, with a recent (April 2001) study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine documenting the effectiveness of massage for chronic back pain. The study also noted that massage was found to be superior to both acupuncture and self-care, over both the short- and long-term. By no means is this study of massage history complete and exhaustive. A detailed history of massage would take volumes and entail years of research. This chapter should have provided a thorough sense of how the profession de­ veloped and in what direction it appears to be headed. More than 75 different varieties of massage and bodywork are available. This chapter has provided a glimpse of how they first began .