Pehr Henrik Ling (15 November 1776 in
Södra Ljunga – 3 May 1839 in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
)
pioneered the teaching of
physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...
in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Ling is credited as the father of
Swedish massage.
Early life
Ling was born in
Södra Ljunga,
Småland
Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
in 1776. His parents were
Lars Peter Ling, a minister, and Hedvig Maria (Hedda) Molin. On his maternal side, Ling was the great-great grandson of the famous Swedish scientist
Olof Rudbeck (1630–1702), who discovered the human
lymphatic system
The lymphatic system, or lymphoid system, is an organ system in vertebrates that is part of the immune system, and complementary to the circulatory system. It consists of a large network of lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, lymphatic or lymphoid o ...
. His family tree extends back to the sixteenth century and includes clergymen and peasants. His great grandfather apparently lived to 105 and had seventeen sons and two daughters.
After graduating from the
Växjö
Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...
gymnasium in 1792, he studied theology at
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion [Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...]
in 1799.
He then worked as a tutor for several families for the next three years.
Travels
In 1800, Ling left Sweden and lived abroad and traveled for seven years. He studied modern languages at the University of Copenhagen. He then traveled to Germany, France, and England. He took part in a naval battle as a volunteer on a Danish ship.
Ling studied
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
and
Schiller, the
Edda
"Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poems ...
and northern mythology, and composed original poems in Swedish, German, French and Danish. He learned fencing at a school of French emigres and noticed its benefits, and those of physical education, on the gout in his arm.
Financial difficulties and
rheumatism caused him to return to Sweden.
Teaching
He read
Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths
Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths, also called Guts Muth or Gutsmuths (9 August 1759 – 21 May 1839), was a teacher and educator in Germany, and is especially known for his role in the development of physical education. He is thought of a ...
' book ''Gymnastics for the Youth'', and participated in the gymnastic exercises of the originator of Danish gymnastics,
Franz Nachtegall
Vivat Victorius Fridericus Franciscus "Franz" Nachtegall (October 3, 1777 – 12 May 1847) was an early proponent and directly responsible for introducing physical education in schools of Denmark.
He was born in Copenhagen on October 3, 1777. He ...
He returned to Sweden 1804 in order to establish a gymnastic institute.
It is possible that Ling's gymnastics were inspired by Chinese body exercises.
Back in Sweden, Ling began a routine of daily exercise, including fencing, and in 1805 was appointed as a master of fencing at Lund University. Having discovered that his daily exercises had restored his health, Ling decided to apply this experience for the benefit of others. He saw the potential of adapting these techniques to promote better health in many situations and thus attended classes in
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
and
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
, and went through the entire curriculum for the training of a medical doctor. He then outlined a system of
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
, exercises, and maneuvers divided into four branches: pedagogical, medical, military, and aesthetic which carried out his theories and demonstrated the scientific rigor to be integrated or approved by established medical practitioners.
Ling was the gymnastics instructor in the Military Academy at Carlsberg.
After several attempts to interest the Swedish government, Ling at last obtained government cooperation in 1813, and founded the
Royal Central Gymnastics Institute for the training of gymnastic instructors was opened in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
with Ling appointed as principal. Ling invented physical education apparatus including the box horse,
wall bars
Gymnastic wall bars (also known as a gymnastic ladder, Swedish ladder, Swedish wall or as stall bars) were invented at the beginning of the 19th century by the Swedish teacher Per Henrik Ling who, when suffering from arthritis, realized the thera ...
, and beams.
He is also credited with developing
calisthenics
Calisthenics (American English) or callisthenics (British English) ( /ˌkælɪsˈθɛnɪks/) is a form of strength training consisting of a variety of movements that exercise large muscle groups (gross motor movements), such as standing, graspi ...
and free calisthenics.
Orthodox medical practitioners were opposed to the claims made by Ling and his disciples. However, by 1831, Ling was elected a member of the
Swedish General Medical Association
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
(Svenska läkaresällskapet), which demonstrated that his methods were regarded as worthy of professional recognition. He was elected a member of the
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...
in 1835
and became a titular
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
the same year.
Legacy
When Ling died of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
in 1839, he had charged three of his pupils with carrying on his legacy. These pupils were
Lars Gabriel Branting (1799–1881), who succeeded Ling as principal of the Institute;
August Georgii, who became sub-director of the Institute; and his own son,
Hjalmar Ling (1820–1886). These three, along with Major
Thure Brandt, who from c. 1861 specialized in the treatment of women (gynecological gymnastics), are regarded as the pioneers of Swedish medical gymnastics.
Although Ling is sometimes credited as the father of
Swedish massage, it was not a part of his Gymnastic Movements nor the curriculum of the Royal Central Gymnastic Institute founded by Ling in 1813.
The Swedish massage techniques
effleurage
Effleurage, a French word meaning "to skim" or "to touch lightly on", is a series of massage strokes used in Swedish massage to warm up the muscle before deep tissue work using petrissage.
This is a soothing, stroking movement used at the begin ...
(long, gliding strokes),
petrissage
Petrissage () is a massage technique that applies deep pressure to the underlying muscles. Kneading, wringing, skin rolling and pick-up-and-squeeze are the petrissage movements. They are all performed with the padded palmar surface of the hand, ...
(lifting and kneading the muscles), friction (firm, deep, circular rubbing movements),
tapotement
Tapotement is a specific technique used in Swedish massage. It is a rhythmic percussion, most frequently administered with the edge of the hand, a cupped hand or the tips of the fingers. There are five types of tapotement including Beating (clos ...
(brisk tapping or percussive movements), and vibration (rapidly shaking or vibrating specific muscles) are largely credited to
Johann Georg Mezger
Johann, typically a male given name, is the German language, German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin language, Latin form of the Greek language, Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew language, Hebrew name ''Johanan (name ...
(1838–1909).
[
Some sources mention that Ling learned massage from a Chinese friend, Ming, but this was an invention of Ling’s rivals, in an effort to discredit his work. Although Ling was probably aware of Chinese massage, he instead developed a system of integrated manual therapy, combining physical training and gymnastic procedures with knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathology.] He was the first to publish and popularize such a system with modern scientific knowledge.
Ling's system of medical gymnastics also influenced later institutions and systems. The Gymnastic Orthopedic Institute was founded in Stockholm in 1822 by Nils Åkerman, which from 1827 received a government grant. Around 1857, Gustav Zander
Dr. Jonas Gustav Vilhelm Zander (29 March 1835 in Stockholm – 17 June 1920) was a Swedish physician, orthopedist and one of the originators of mechanotherapy. He is known for inventing a therapeutic method of exercise carried out by means of a ...
developed a medico-mechanical system of gymnastics, known by his name, founding the Zander Institute at Stockholm in 1865. At the Stockholm Gymnastic Central Institute, qualified medical faculties have supervised the medical department since 1864. The Dedham Public Schools
The Dedham Public School System (Dedham Public Schools) is a PK– 12 graded school district in Dedham, Massachusetts. It is the oldest public school system in the United States.
History
On January 2, 1643, the Town Meeting set aside land for ...
began teaching the Ling System in 1893.
Broadly speaking, there have been two streams of development in the Swedish gymnastics founded on Ling's beginnings, either in a conservative direction, making certain forms of gymnastic exercises subsidiary to the prescriptions of orthodox medical science, or else in an extremely progressive direction, making these exercises a substitute for any other treatment, and claiming them as cures for diseases. A representative of the latter, more extreme section was Henrik Kellgren (1837–1916), who had a special school and following.
Other accounts of Dr Ling's practice and philosophies were published: a ''Handbook of Medical Gymnastics'' (English edition, 1899) by Anders Wide of Stockholm represents the more conservative practice. Henrik Kellgren's system is partially based on Ling's, and is described in ''The Elements of Kellgren's Manual Treatment'' (1903) by Edgar F. Cyriax, who, before earning his MD at Edinburgh, had served at the Stockholm Institute as a gymnastic director. See also the encyclopedic work ''Sweden: its people and its industry: historical and statistical handbook'' (1904), p. 348, edited by Gustav Sandburg for the Swedish government.
The yoga scholar Mark Singleton states that Ling's gymnastics shaped the development of modern yoga as exercise
Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...
in the Western world.
In 1939 and again in 1949, Sweden held a large gymnastics competition named for Ling, "The Lingiad" (written ''Lingiaden'' in Swedish).
Honors and Awards
Honorary Fellow in Memoriam, National Academy of Kinesiology
References
*
See also the encyclopedic work: Sandburg, Gustav d.''Sweden: its people and its industry: historical and statistical handbook'' (1904) p. 348.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ling, Pehr Henrik
1776 births
1839 deaths
People from Ljungby Municipality
Members of the Swedish Academy
People associated with physical culture
19th-century Swedish educators
Swedish military doctors
Swedish physiotherapists
Swedish expatriates in Denmark