Tui Na cures chronic pain, particularly the ones caused by musculoskeletal injuries and conditions. All conditions such as tennis elbow, sciatica, immobility and back pain, shoulder pain, and neck pain, among others, also go very well to this treatment.
However, it is difficult to resolve a certain condition using Tui Na outside of enhancing the overall status of Chi in the body, which implies that an entire spectrum of emotional conditions as well as PMS, constipation, IBS, migraines, and headaches can also be treated
This age-old Chinese bodywork technique is now gaining wide acceptance in the Western world.
Pronounced ‘twee-nah’, Tui Na massage, like Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture in Bellingham, is a holistic healing system. These three types of treatment are the main branches of TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine. Tui Na’s popularity continues to grow and it’s perhaps, the oldest system of bodywork still practiced today.
About 2500 years ago, the methods of Tui Na and details of its uses in addressing a number of health issues were already documented in the Nei Jing or The Yellow Emperor’s Classics of Internal Medicine, a vast treatise which is alleged to be the oldest medical journal in the World. Modern Tui Na is the most tried and tested manual therapy in the world after such a very long period of evolution and development.
How is Tui Na Therapy Done?
Tui Na therapy is performed on a clothed body. The patient may first lie on a couch or sit on a chair. The practitioner then asks a number of questions about the patient’s state of health before performing a session of Tui Na therapy on him.
How does Tui Na work?
Tui Na massage is the most tried and tested manual therapy in the world and is a holistic type of healing system. It works based on the complicated principle of TCM. Basic to this principle is the life powering energy which the Chinese call Chi or Qi. Every feature of bodily function depends on the flow of Chi along the tissues.
The Chinese have discovered that the human body possesses a total of 12 paired energy channels called meridians – one member of each pair on the left side of the body and the other on the right. There are also a couple of unpaired meridians that surround the head and the trunk in the mid-line.
The meridians are pathways in which the primary flow of Chi occurs. They are not the same as vessels and they have no anatomical structure at all. It is best to visualize them as waves of Chi, similar to the waves of water in the ocean.
Curiously, the methods used in Western science were used to map the courses of these meridians, and they validate the accuracy of the detailed maps observed during the time of the Nei Jing.
There are there are specific Chi points (the acupoints of acupuncture) at irregular intervals along the meridians where heat, needle, or pressure can influence the way Chi circulates along the meridian. This effect can manifest itself on some area of the meridian that may be quite remote from where the stimulus was administered.
When the circulation of Chi is disrupted in some part of the body, the Chi imbalance that ensues can lead to sickness, stiffness, pain, and even emotional pain.
According to the Chinese, vitality and health depend on Chi balance in the body. One of the best ways to achieve this is through Tui Na therapy through the use of a wide range of techniques.
A casual observer observing a session of tui na may notice what seems to be a comprehensive workout on the joints and soft tissues; the practitioner however, strives to achieve more than this. He focuses his attention on selected Chi acupoints and meridians. These body parts are massaged in different ways to eliminate all obstacles to the flow of Chi.
In China, Tui Na is applied to conditions, which, in the West, would be addressed with drugs or by physiotherapists, chiropractors, or osteopaths.
How does a session of Tui Na therapy feel like?
Tui Na is a very intensive type of massage; each method requires pressure as well as movement. After the initial session, patients may feel a bit sore but most of them get used to the deep pressure after two or three more sessions.
Based on the kind of Tui Na treatment you experience, you might leave feeling slightly light headed while some patients may feel supercharged or feel very sleepy. More often than not, however, everyone feels better after Tui Na.
Does Tui Na Have any Side Effects?
Tui Na, like acupuncture, generates a lot of side effects, although they are the positive kind. A typical example is a patient treated for chronic back pain only to find that his chronic constipation has also been rectified. This usually happens because the pain therapy is aimed at the Bladder meridian that is directly connected into the Chi energies of the large intestine.
The side effects can sometimes become extremely emotional and patients can’t help but cry uncontrollably.
Tui Na Contra-indications
Like all types of treatment, Tui Na may not be recommended for certain conditions.
Vigorous join manipulations and very deep, soft tissue massage would not be prescribed for a person affected by infection or eczema and so would direct massage on skin for people suffering from osteoporosis, to mention just a couple of examples. However, even in these instances, it still can be possible to perform very effective Tui Na on selected distant Chi-points and the affected areas of the meridians.