136 MASSAGE THERAPY JOURNAL • Summer 2003

ocrates praised olive oil as the“assuager of pain.” InAmerican colonial times, a lin-

iment called opodeldoc was rubbed on torelieve muscular aches. Patent medi-cines such as Renne’s Magic Oil andDr. Thomas Eclectric Oil were sold inthe late 1800s for a variety of ailments.Almond oil with a hint of patchouliwas a favorite of Esalen practitioners inthe 1970s.

The historical record is full of refer-ences to topical substances appliedwith massage. The four most commonpurposes for these substances were: 1)for their healing properties; 2) theirnutritive value; 3) as lubricants; and 4)for luxury or beauty.

Materials used in the past includevegetable oils, powders, animalproducts (i.e., hog’s lard), petrole-um derivatives, liniments, cremesand lotions, and even soapy water.Figure 1 shows a collection of oldcontainers for substances used inmedical rubbing and massage fromthe past 100 years.

Before the word “massage” cameinto general use in the late 19th centu-ry, soft tissue manipulation was vari-ously called friction, rubbing andmedical rubbing. Oily or greasy prepa-

rations were used with friction toavoid chafing the skin. Unction meantrubbing with only enough effort toapply oily substances, usually for theirmedicinal properties or nutritivevalue. In ancient texts, anointing simplymeant applying oil or ointment, andimplied rubbing the substances on orinto the skin.1

A closer look at some of the morepopular substances used years agowith massage attests to their variety,and to the great care that massagepractitioners used in choosingthem. Just as today, every massagetherapist seems to have his or herfavorites, as well as personal theo-ries about what to use for a particu-lar effect. Oils and liniments will bethe focus of this article.

Botanical SourcesPlants have been by far the singlegreatest source of topical substancesfor massage. For thousands of years,oils from plants and botanical reme-dies have been rubbed into the skinfor their healing effects. Massage oilsused today are made from many ofthe same plant sources that have beenused for centuries (i.e., almond,olive, coconut and sesame).

S

Rub It On, Rub It In: A Brief History OfOils And Liniments Used In Massage

A closer look at the substances used years ago with massage attests totheir variety, and to the great care that went into choosing them.

By Patricia J. Benjamin

A Look Back

Figure 1. (above and right) Collection of old

bottles and containers for massage and rubbing

oils and liniments from the past 100 years.

Summer 2003 • WWW.AMTAMASSAGE.ORG 139

rubbing with oil at the ancientgymnasium. In a typical day atthe gym in the first centuryA.D., a citizen athlete wouldhave been rubbed with oil atleast twice—once before (tripsisparaskeuastike) and once after(apotherapeia) exercises. A thirdrubbing might be performedafter a bath.

Galen advocated rubbing thewhole body before exercisesfirst with a linen cloth as awarm-up, and then rubbingmore vigorously with oil. Afterexercise a larger amount of oilwas used with frictions. Galenstated that “since the rubbingmust be neither slow nor hard,we must pour oil plentifullyover the body of the personwho is rubbed; for this con-tributes both to the quicknessand softness of the rubbing;and it enjoys also anotheradvantage, for it relaxes tensionand softens the parts whichhave suffered in the more vio-lent kinds of exertion.” Oliveoil, the assuager of pain, wouldhave been plentiful in theMediterranean area and a likelychoice for frictions after exer-cise at the gymnasium.5

India Massage with oils of variouskinds is a key part of ancientAyurvedic health and healingpractices. Ancient texts pro-vide descriptions of severaloils made by pressing plantseeds (i.e., mustard, olive,sesame, coconut, almondand castor oil). Combiningbase oil with a fragrance(i.e., sandalwood, rose orjasmine flowers) makes aro-matic oil mixtures.

A Look Back

138 MASSAGE THERAPY JOURNAL • Summer 2003

Herb gardens have providedbotanicals used to heal wounds,soothe bruises and sprains, andreduce inflammation. In 16th centu-ry Europe, gardens of “physic”underwent dramatic change asmedicinal plants from NorthAmerica were brought back, andbooks called herbals were pub-lished. One such herbal, entitled“Joyfull Newes out of the NeweFounde Worlde,” was translatedfrom Spanish into English in 1577.2

These books contained beautifuland detailed drawings of plants,and are prized by collectors today.

Medicinal herbs used to healwounds included agrimony, elderleaves, garlic bulb, golden rod, hys-sop and yarrow. To treat bruises andsprains, arnica root and flowers,burdock, marigold, wintergreen andwitch hazel were used. Comfrey,marshmallow root and violet wereapplied to reduce inflammation.3

Concoctions of herbs and oils havebeen made for rubbing from timeimmemorial.

Sumer Perhaps the earliest written recordof friction with plant derivatives isfound on a clay tablet from Sumer(present-day southern Iraq) datingfrom 2100 B.C. “Pass through asieve and then knead together tur-tle shells, naga-si plant, salt, andmustard. Then wash the diseasedpart with beer of good quality andhot water, and rub with the mix-ture. Then friction and rub againwith oil, and put on a poultice ofpounded pine.”4

Ancient Rome Galen, a renowned Greek physi-cian and onetime doctor to thegladiators, left a detaileddescription of the routine ofFigure 2a. A Victorian tradecard advertises Renne’s Magic Oil as an internal and external remedy. Figure 2b. A Victorian tradecard advertises Dr. Thomas’ Eclectric Oil as an internal and external remedy.

medical rubbing in the mid-1800s,it was observed that “old womeneverywhere use opodeldoc.”7 The morescientific name for opodeldoc is linimen-tum saponis camphoratum, or in English,

camphorated soap liniment. It wasused for rubbing painful muscles,contusions, sprains, sore throat and“other painful afflictions.”

There are several variations on therecipe for opodeldoc, but most containthe same ingredients. Opodeldoc isdescribed in a botanical text of the late1800s as a combination of powderedsoap (castile soap made from soda andolive oil), camphor, oil of rosemary, oilof origanum (aka oil of wild marjo-ram), ammonia and alcohol.

The recipes for opodeldoc read likecookbooks and are obviously intend-ed for people who are whippingthem up from scratch. The recipesgive the ingredients, amount to use,the mixing order, and when to shakethem in the bottle.8

In the post-American Civil War era(1860–1900) patent medicinesmade from old botanical remediesbecame readily available throughmass production. Tradecards adver-tising patent oils and liniments wereproduced in the Victorian era. These3x5 card sized advertisements werepassed out by merchants and street-walkers. Tradecards for Dr. Thomas’Eclectric Oil and Renne’s Magic Oilare shown in Figure 2a. and Figure 2b.(See Pages 138 and 139.)

Sloan’s Liniment “Kills Pain” Sloan’s Liniment was one of manyformulated in the late 1800s, andcontinues to be produced today.

Sloan’s Liniment was created by EarlSawyer Sloan, along with his fatherand a local veterinarian, to treatlameness in horses. Sloan soon dis-covered that the liniment alsoworked well to treat human achesand pains, and he founded a compa-ny to market the liniment in 1903.9

With his handlebar mustache andbow tie, Sloan is featured prominentlyon the bottle and box, as shown inFigure 3. Sloan’s Liniment was adver-tised for rheumatism, arthritis, lumba-go, and minor strains and sprains. Itclaimed to offer relief from muscularaches due to overexposure, overworkand fatigue. The active ingredientswere extract of capsicum (cayenne pep-per), methyl salicylate, camphor oil,turpentine and oil of pine.10 Althoughmost people think of turpentine inrelation to paint thinner, it has beenused for muscle aches and pains forcenturies.Turpentine is actually a thin,volatile essential oil made from woodor exudates of pine trees.

Petroleum OilIn the oil-rich Middle East, ancientPersians and Sumerians believed thatpetroleum had medicinal value.

11In

addition to being used to protect theskin in the desert climate, it was

140 MASSAGE THERAPY JOURNAL • Summer 2003

Oils are chosen for their propertiesand to match the needs of the personbeing massaged, according toAyurvedic theory. For example, mus-tard oil is unctuous, bitter, pungent,sharp, light and heating. It ispreferred by Indian wrestlersand other athletes to relievemuscle stiffness, and to curepain, swelling and woundsof all kinds. It is thought todestroy diseases caused byvata (wind) and kapha(mucus), and to increasepitta (bile) and body heat.Ayurvedic Massage by HarishJohari contains a wealth of informa-tion about traditional Ayurvedic mas-sage oils, the therapeutic use of oilsand oil recipes.

LinimentsLiniments are watery concoctionsrubbed onto the skin to relieve soreand stiff muscles. Mother Nature hasprovided a number of substancesguaranteed to irritate the skin andthus increase local circulation, bring-ing warmth and soothing relief.Theseare the rubefacients, from the Latin for“to make red.”

Liniments are typically strong-smelling, and contain substances suchas camphor, menthol and turpentine.Rosemary, wild majoram and cayennepepper are also ingredients found inliniments. Similar ingredients arefound in commercial preparations,such as Ben Gay and Tiger Balm.

Liniments are generally rubbed on—not into—the skin. Since they containskin irritants, rubbing them in too vig-orously has been known to cause blis-ters. They are applied over a specificbody area after massage, or gentlyrubbed onto a sore or bruised area.

OpodeldocCommenting on substances used for

A Look Back

Sloan’s Liniment was created by Earl Sawyer Sloan in the late1800s, along with his father and a local veterinarian, to treatlameness in horses. Sloan soon discovered that the linimentalso worked well to treat human aches and pains.

Figure 3. Sloan’s Liniment “Kills Pain.” Formulated in the 1890s, Sloan’s Liniment is still available today.

Summer 2003 • WWW.AMTAMASSAGE.ORG 143

“cocoanut-oil or cocoa-butter” wereused freely, and that “some physiciansobject to using grease of any kind.”13

Those trained in massotherapeutics, ormassage as treatment, were encour-aged to perform “dry rubbing.” Thewell-known British physician WilliamMurrell advocated dry rubbing forfour reasons: 1) to getbetter contraction ofthe muscles; 2) tomore readily developelectric currents in thetissues; 3) to createmore heat in the tis-sues; and 4) to avoidmaking a mess of your patient.14

Others weighed in on the subjectwith Dr. Stretch Dowse, suggestingcastor oil and chloroform for cases ofpainfully stiff joints, and the use of alubricant for abdominal massage. Thelabel on an old bottle of rubbing oilfrom Rexall claims “to allay inflamma-tion, to remove soreness and stiffnessand to soothe tired muscles and irritat-ed nerves.” It also contains chloro-form. (See Figure 4, opposite page.)

Margaret Palmer suggested that stu-dents could benefit from using lubri-cant “until they learn how to use theirhands.” Mary McMillan, a pioneer ofphysical therapy, advocated the use ofcod-liver oil or olive oil for its nutri-tive value when massaging youngchildren. She also mentions cocoabutter and lanolin (an animal prod-uct) as “among the best lubricants.”15

By mid-20th century, physical ther-apists had largely given up using mas-sage as a mode of treatment. But mas-sage was still valued by some, likeFrances M. Tappan at the University ofConnecticut, Department of PhysicalTherapy.Writing in 1961,Tappan sum-marized the use of lubricants for mas-sage at the time. Lanolin-based coldcream is noted for its nonirritatingqualities. Mineral or baby oil might

also be used. Cocoa butter may be usedon scar tissue caused by burns, andolive oil for skin nutrition. Powderalso was mentioned as a lubricant.16

When massage in the naturalhealing tradition was revivedthrough Esalen massage in the1970s, cold-pressed vegetable oils

were favored, and continue to bepopular among massage therapiststoday. Manufacturers of these oilshave developed a variety of specialtyoils and lotions for the unique needsand preferences of massage thera-pists practicing different techniquesand forms of massage.

Producers of oil, lotion and other top-ical substances for massage therapy carryon a tradition, almost as old as massageitself. Ingredients that have been used forcenturies are mixed with the new to pro-vide massage therapists with the topicalsubstances that enhance their work.

•••Patricia J. Benjamin, Ph.D., is co-author ofTappan’s Handbook of HealingMassage Techniques andUnderstanding Sports Massage. She hasbeen writing and teaching about the history ofmassage therapy since the early 1980s. She canbe contacted via E-mail at:pat_benjamin@sbcglobal.net.

References1. Johnson, W. The Anatriptic Art. London:

Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1866.

2. Garland, S. The Herb Garden. New York,

New York: Penguin Books, 1984.

3. Ibid.

4. Time-Life Books. The Age of God-Kings:

Timeframe 3000–1500 B.C. Alexandria,

Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1987.

5. Johnson, W. The Anatriptic Art.

6. Johari, Harish. Ayurvedic Massage:

Traditional Indian Techniques for

Balancing Body and Mind. Rochester,

Vermont: Healing Arts Press, 1996.

7. Johnson, W. The Anatriptic Art.

8. Felter, H. W. and J. U. Lloyd. “King’s

American Dispensatory” (1898), 18th edi-

tion, 3d revision.

http://ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/kings/s

apo_lini.html; accessed 28 February

2003.

9. Hall, A. “Earl Sloan, Library Benefactor”

(2001). http://steubenville.lib.oh.us;

accessed 28 February 2003.

10. Sloan’s Liniment. St. Louis: Standard

Laboratories, 1910.

11. Pafko, W. “Case Study: Petroleum—

Origins of the Industry” (2000).

http://pafko.com/history/h_petro.html;

accessed 28 February 2003.

12. Plutarch. The Lives of the Noble

Grecians and Romans (110 A.D.). In

Great Books of the Western World, Vol.

13, 2d edition, Encyclopedia Britannica,

translated by Dryden. Chicago:

Encyclopedia Britannica, 1990.

13. Ostrom, K. Massage and the Original

Swedish Movements. Philadelphia: P.

Blakiston, Son & Co., 1905.

14. Murrell, W. Massotherapeutics or

Massage as a Mode of Treatment.

Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co.,

1890.

15. McMillan, M. Massage and Therapeutic

Exercise. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders,

1925.

16. Tappan, F. M. Massage Techniques: A

Case Method Approach. New York, New

York: The Macmillan Company, 1961.

A Look Back

142 MASSAGE THERAPY JOURNAL • Summer 2003

used for anointing—that is, as alubricant for the ancient version ofthe rubdown.

Alexander The Great In his fascinating biography ofAlexander the Great (356–323 B.C.),the Roman historian Plutarch relatesan incident about the use of mineraloil by the ancients for recovery frombattle. It seems that before an upcom-ing battle, a servant of Alexandernamed Proxenus was digging up theground near the river Oxus to set upthe royal pavilion. He hit upon a“spring of a fat oily liquor, whichafter the top was taken off, ran pure,clear oil, without any differenceeither of taste or smell, having exact-ly the same smoothness and bright-ness, and that, too, in a countrywhere no olives grew.”

Plutarch goes further to say that theriver Oxus was known “to be thesmoothest to the feeling of all waters,and to leave a gloss on the skins of thosewho bathe themselves in it.”Alexander’sdiviners took this as an omen that theupcoming battle would be won, but thatit would be difficult and painful. “Foroil, they said, was bestowed on mankindby God as a refreshment of theirlabours.”12 It was considered a goodomen that God provided such a valuablemeans for recovery and healing.

Lubricants For MassageAs the old practice of medical rubbingdeveloped into the more sophisticatedtechniques of modern massage, theuse of lubricants was refined. KurreOstrom in Massage and the Original SwedishMovements (1905) noted that “to avoidabrasions all German and Scandinavianoperators use some kind of oleaginoussubstance.” These included whiteVaseline, glycerin, lanolin, lard, oliveoil, arnica oil and belladonna oint-ment. He mentions that in America,

Producers of oil, lotion and other topical substances for massage therapy carry on a tradition, almost as old as massage itself.

Figure 4. Rubbing oil from Rexall. “To allay inflammation, to remove soreness and stiffness

and to soothe tired muscles and irritated nerves.” Contains chloroform.