Excerpt from Massage: Its Principles and Practice

This book is not intended to serve as a Text-book for the massage student. For such many books are already on the market, and there is no need to add to their number. Moreover, it will be recognised by the experienced masseur that many of the views herein expressed are unorthodox and are therefore dangerous diet for one whose main object in the immediate future is to satisfy examiners.

I have undertaken the heavy task of writing a book in war-time, at the request of my publishers, with two main objects in view. The first is to try to point out, as far as I can, to the practising masseurs and masseuses, what I consider to be the rationale of massage-treatment, and to endeavour to introduce into their technique more generally than is at present the case the care and gentleness, which appear to me as the key to the riddle of the exact nature of the massage which will most speedily yield a successful result. The six months' training at present in vogue is totally inadequate for efficiency or thorough teaching. My aim is to supplement both as far as can be done by the study of a book.

The second object I had in mind - which, I fear, is less likely to be realised - was that I might be able to place in the hands of my professional brethren a book to which they can refer when issuing instructions to their masseurs. A medical man who fails to issue adequate instructions may often be responsible for the failure for which his masseur is blamed. Another fertile source of disappoint ment is found in the lack of experience inseparable from a course of training limited to six months.

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