- Treatment by Massage: its Mode of Application and Effects- "Massage" from the Greek masso (I knead or handle), is a term now generally accepted to signify a group of procedures which are usually done with the hands, such as friction, kneading, manipulating, rolling, and percussing of the external tissues of the body, either with some curative, palliative, or hygienic object in view. Its application should in many instances be combined with passive, resistive, or assistive movements, and these are often spoken of as the so-called Swedish movement-cure.