The World Tui Na Association states that the age-old science of Chinese Tui Na medicine revolves around the use of the physician’s hands to diagnose through palpation and to treat diseases and illnesses with a variety of manual techniques. The Tui Na physician will then tailor make a treatment protocol to fit each individual patient based on the specifics of their particular situation to effect a cure. The Doctors Health Press has reported on Tui Na medicine.
In Chinese medicine Qi is the essence of life that flows through nature and our bodies. Much of Chinese medicine is centered on realigning the flow of Qi to restore health. A type of Chinese massage which is used for this that is very popular and very soothing is called Tui Na. In a consideration of the concept of Qi, meridians are the energy channels that the Qi flows through. The body has 12 main primary meridians that are connected to organs such as the lungs, kidneys, heart, and liver. In a healthy body Qi flows freely as in a stream with rushing water. When fresh stream water stops flowing, perhaps due to a dam or something else blocking it, the water become more easily contaminated because whatever falls in just sits there. In the same way when the Qi in a body is blocked the body becomes more vulnerable to illness caused by toxins and pollutants.
You may have to stimulate the riverbed or what is underneath it to get the water flowing again. In people to get the Qi flowing again one of the best manipulations is Tui Na. Tui Na has some similarities to the Swedish style of massage which most of us are familiar with. In each type of treatment the person being treated is face down on a massage table. With Tui Na practitioners use their hands, arms, fingers, elbows and knees to work on the body. Tui Na brings deep tissue manipulation in addition to typical massage moves.
Sometimes Tui Na is so rigorous it may be mildly painful. In order to help ease any discomfort that may come from this medicinal massage, warm poultices of Chinese herbs are at times applied to different areas of the body. Tui Na is based on the principle that the body has the power to heal itself. Tui Na can help to unblock the Qi, and than once the Qi is free flowing, the body is balanced and free to heal itself. It has been reported that Tui Na has been successful in treating a wide variety of ailments and conditions, which include insomnia, migraines, hypertension, constipation, sciatica, joint pain, and fatigue
