Tuina

Tuina (push and grasp) massage is traditional Chinese medical massage as opposed to Anmo (press and rub), which is the folk massage. It is an effective and comprehensive bodywork therapy that uses the same channel and organ theories as traditional acupuncture.

Although it is not well known here in the West, it is regarded alongside Herbs, Acupuncture, Dietary Advice and Gigong as a fundamental part of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

How does Tuina feel?

That depends on what a client is coming in for! Treatments are very unique to a client’s pathology and what they want to be treated- just as a traditional acupuncture treatment is catered to every individual. Treatments are usually focused on a particular problem and can be very strong, or gentle and nourishing if there is weakness.

Tuina involves the use of acupuncture channels and points as well as following muscle groups. In a session a practitioner might move from the sore back to the feet, hands or head pressing points and following a channel. Frontal massage also plays a large part with facial and abdominal massage as well as the use of frontal leg and arm points.

There is a vast array of techniques within Tuina; soft tissue techniques such as kneading, rolling, hard and soft pushing, grasping, percussion, skin pinching and folding and muscle/tendon plucking. There are also joint mobilisation techniques and of course point manipulation and qi work.

What is Tuina useful for?

Although it is a medical massage, in the west it is most often (as with most massage) seen as a relaxation therapy. Tuina has pleasant nourishing hand techniques such as pressing, pushing, gentle grasping and so on that can fulfil this role. An unusual hand technique that is gentle and nourishing is guen fa (rolling technique); it involves the back of the hand gradually moving over an area creating a feeling like a rolling pin. If you are looking for deep tissue work this can also be catered for within the techniques used.

If someone is coming in to have a musculoskeletal problem treated warming up techniques over the whole body will be followed by an array of more focused techniques on the affected area. Whether these techniques are still soft or hard such as elbow pressing (dian fa) or plucking (tan bo fa) over muscle fibres will depend on whether the condition is one of repletion or depletion. This will be ascertained by a practitioner in the diagnosis before a session- this is the same as an acupuncture diagnostic experience with an array of questions, pulse taking and looking at the tongue. If the problem is in a joint the practitioner can shake (dao), pull (ba zin) and rotate (yao) a joint to the level they see fit.

Just as acupuncture is used for internal pathologies (such as digestive problems) and acute conditions such as a cold, Tuina can also be used. This would predominantly involve the stimulation of acupuncture points and channels. For example, a cold would be treated by stimulating the ‘wind points’ as well as using the technique ca fa (fast heating rubbing) or juen fa (skin folding to induce diaphoresis) over the upper back region. For something like constipation, depending on the cause of constipation, local abdominal techniques and points, along with points on the legs and arms would be used.

Tuina can also be used for ailments in children instead of acupuncture, for problems such as asthma and digestive upset. There is also a unique system developed for the treatment of infants.

Practitioner

Jasmine Toynbee