In the practice of TCM or traditional Chinese medicine in Bellmore, Tui na is a form of bodywork therapy that is often used in conjunction with herbal medicine and acupuncture.
Chinese Tui Na therapeutic massage therapy is one of Chinese medicine’s most important components. Its use began around 1700 B.C. during the Shang Dynasty. While most traditional massage therapies are mainly used for pleasure and relaxation, tui na is designed to rectify disharmonies by applying pressure to strategic points on the patient’s body.
How Does Tui Na Work?
Based on TCM theory, qi is the life energy in a person that flows through energy pathways in the body called meridians. Tui na is a form of therapy that assimilates acupressure techniques to boost the life energy in the body, eliminates blockages, in the energy channels, and brings the vital energy into balance.
Tui na prevents and treats disease using the following eight basic methods:
• Tui – Pushing
• Na – Holding
• An – Pressing
• Mo – Kneading
• Duan – Opposing
• Ti – Lifting
• Mo – Palpating
• Jie – Rejoining
Following the concepts used in acupuncture, tui na uses the energy trigger points on acupressure points, as well as the joints and muscles surrounding the problematic body part of the patient.
Tui Na Health Benefits
Tui na can be a useful ally in the maintenance and rehabilitation of health. It can help treat problems involving the ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Tui na can treat or be a complementary treatment of various health problems, including joint displacement, musculoskeletal conditions, back and shoulder pain, chronic respiratory ailments related to stress, and other internal disorders. Practitioners of Tui na can also:
• Regulate nerves
• Treat soft tissue damage
• Improve mobility of joints
• Boost blood circulation
Tui na therapeutic massage assimilates principles in the fields of healthcare including biomechanics, pathology, kinesiology, physiology, and anatomy. This means that this therapy can be an appropriate practice in a variety of environments including clinics, hospitals, individual practices, and other health care setting.
Tui na can be categorized into specialized modalities for massage therapy, energy work, sports medicine, physical therapy, chiropractic medicine, geriatrics, and orthopedics. Several schools of martial arts schools also offer tui na education for the management and treatment of pain and injury.
Tui na concentrates on treating certain ailments, instead of taking a more generalized approach which makes this practice an ideal extension of or alternative to Swedish massage and other massage therapies that are widely popular in Western societies.