Massage involves working and acting on the body with pressure – structured, unstructured, stationary, or moving – tension, motion, or vibration, done manually or with mechanical aids.

Massage types types can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearm, feet, or a massage device. Massage can promote relaxation and well-being.

The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massage meaning "to touch, feel" or from Latin massa meaning "mass, dough", or from the Greek verb ????? (mass?) "to handle, touch, to work with the hands, to knead dough."

In professional settings massage clients are treated while lying on a massage table, sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a mat on the floor, while in amateur settings a general purpose surface like a bed or floor is more common.

Aquatic massage and bodywork is performed with recipients submersed or floating in a warm-water therapy pool.

The massage subject may be fully or partially clothed or unclothed.