Chinese Medical Massage | How does Tui Na work, and what is it about?

Chinese Medical Massage, known as Tui Na can be thought of as Acupuncture without needles.

This is the easiest way to describe the manual therapy branch of Chinese Medicine. It is probably the oldest physical treatment on the planet; the grandparent of massage, osteopathy, chiropractic, physiotherapy and any practiced bodywork, yet it is still relatively unfamiliar to the majority of people.

‘Tuna with an “i”? Toooweeenaaa… whaaa’?

Chinese Medicine has five branches: Acupuncture, Herbs, Tai Ji Chuan (Tai Chi), Qi Gong, and Tui Na. They all have a common foundation of theory based on Taoism. Think of it as a form on ‘Naturalism’, a view of the world based on the observations of Nature and our place within it.

Most people are familiar with the idea of Acupuncture and the system it is based on. Although we cannot be certain, we think it’s safe to assume that the use of hands came first, the application of needles came later. As Chinese Medical Massage is based on the same system, it can address the signs and symptoms of typical muscle aches and pains, back and neck problems but can also be used for signs and symptoms of other medical conditions: Gynaecological, gastro-intestinal, insomnia, respiratory, stress conditions like anxiety, migraines and many others.

How does it manage to address so many areas?

Let’s leave out the concepts of Chinese Medicine for a moment.

Tui Na is performed through clothes and uses many varying techniques to influence a body to heal itself. Tui Na literally means “Push” and “Hold/Grasp”; the terms are descriptive of the techniques being used. These are only 2 of the 26+ techniques that can be applied during a treatment. Each technique will elicit a different response from the body being worked on, so it stimulates the nervous and vascular (blood) systems in a range of ways western massage styles do not. Most massage styles use pressure and flowing strokes with oil on skin to achieve their results.

If we introduce the eastern concepts, Tui Na works with the body tissues as well as the energetic system that is the basis for Chinese Medicine. In this way, Tui Na addresses the structure (tissues, ligaments, RSI – Repetitive Strain Injury, fascia), assists in restoring proper function (range of movement of joints) and the energetics of the body (regulation of Yin and Yang using acupoints, channels and ‘organs’ of Chinese Medicine).
All of this is to assist the body in correcting or healing itself.

Over thousands of years of practice and observation, highly effective treatments were worked out for specific conditions. If needed, treatments can be adjusted for each client as they present.

What has been refined over millennia of application is a thorough system of bodywork that can approach a range of conditions ailments.

• It is not just a “nuts and bolt” approach.
• It is not just using a “hippie energy system”.
• It is a highly effective system of bodywork using the energetic system of Chinese Medicine that has a broad application for many conditions that are suffered throughout society.

Perhaps a possible solution to many of the conditions we suffer has been hiding in plain sight from a different culture. It’s not so much foreign, it’s just unfamiliar.

Treating Headaches using Tui Na

This a quite a large subject with headache symptoms which may include throbbing, pressure and tightness to scalp or face, constant pain from dull to sharp, making the head one of the most common sites for pain in people.
In Western Medicine there are two categories of headaches:

 

1. Primary which include migraine, tension and cluster which can resolve quickly while others are debilitating and can linger. Trigeminal neuralgia and other cranial nerve inflammation and daily persistent headaches fit here. These are not life threatening but some can show symptoms that imitate that of strokes.
2. Secondary include infectious issues or underlying structural problems, which takes in a wide range of medical conditions. These conditions can range from sinus infection, dental issues to bleeding in the brain and infections such as meningitis or encephalitis.  Headaches from traumatic injury, including post-concussion, substance abuse or medication excess along with the “hangover” from dehydration effects also fit in the category.

Treatments

Treatments depend on the diagnosis and symptoms and range from, pain killers or analgesics such as aspirin and paracetamol, codeine, mersyndol, fiorinal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen for acute headaches.
Other therapies to consider are Acupuncture, Alexander technique, Aromatherapy, Ayurvedic medicine, Biofeedback, Chiropractic Therapy, Hydrotherapy, Massage, Meditation, Naturopathy, Osteopathy, Physiotherapy, Relaxation Techniques, Tuina, Shiatsu and Yoga.

In Chinese Medicine the essence of visceral Blood and Qi flow together in the head. It is also the Yang energies meet and where Clear Yang is supposed to climb to and then descend and disperse throughout the body. Exogenous Pathogenic Factors and Internal Damage affect this flow, along with the following conditions effect the body where headaches are one or most of the symptoms as an outcome of those conditions. These are Wind Heat, Wind Cold, Summer Damp, Liver Yang Rising, Phlegm Turbidity, Blood Deficiency, Kidney Deficiency and Blood Stagnation.

Areas of the head that are affected are:

• Large Intestine (Taiyang) headache: neck, nape and occiput.
• Stomach (Yangming) headache: across the forehead and supraorbital ridge
• Gall Bladder (ShaoYang) headache: sides of the head
• Liver (JueYin) headache: vertex or top of the head, and may can include the eyes and nausea or vomiting.

Tuina is an excellent and effective treatment for addressing these problems.

Gastrointestinal Disorders

Throughout the centuries physicians have noted that the gastrointestinal disorders have been distressed by a wide range of diseases and conditions. The symptoms that are produced are quite varied such as pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, poor digestion and/or any combination. Medical care needs to be sort when these symptoms become severe and/or when daily life is impacted upon when they are caused by an illness. Originally physicians search for infection, inflammation and other physical issues to explain the symptoms to diagnose and to offer treatment. If these physical causes are not found, then the diagnosis with suffering from “functional” symptomology (FGID) and treated from the symptoms alone. This thinking led physicians to believe that the symptoms weren’t legitimate if the “organic” disease was discounted. Gastrointestinal disorders in this group are conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, diverticular diseases, haemorrhoids, perianal infections, colitis, anal fissures, perianal abscesses, anal fistulas, colon polyps and cancer. With a healthy lifestyle, along with practicing good bowel habits and having bowel screening for many of these can be prevented or minimised by.

Changes in recent years in modern medicine has shifted away from reductionistic and disease-based models. With the growth in the gut-brain interaction, mainly in modern times from the work of researchers like Dr Michael D. Gershon M.D., in his book The Second Brain, the shift has been greater. This has allowed an integrated biological, social and psychological model and also away from the one biological cause to a more multilayered physiological issues such as changes in motility, gut-brain imbalance due to stress or perceived stress and heightened visceral sensitivity and gut bacterial changes.

Early physicians and shamans had this modal in the connection between the physical, mental and spiritual connection to the individual, which seems to be more apparent since we moved towards the Cartesian model that the mind and body are distinct and separate and the reductionist model.

Tuina and Qi Nei Tsang techniques are used a great deal in treating gastrointestinal disorders, as the abdominal area is source of our Qi and Blood. This a sample of how Chinese Medicine looks at the effect of emotions on the organs and their health, but other traditional medicines also looked at this connection, such as Ayurveda.

All these emotional states over time will affect the gastrointestinal health and this is an inkling about how the emotions can affect these organs.

Liver Health: Anger, frustration resentment and rage

In Chinese medicine, the organ most affected by excess stress and/or emotions is the Liver. People have to feel the stress or emotion, and find an expression for it, but the worst thing you can do is hold on to it.  When you are irritable often and if things easily stress you out, then your Liver function is becoming out of balance. Symptoms vary from dizziness, blurred vision, headaches mainly on the top of the head to rib pain and high blood-pressure.

Heart Health: Unhappiness, absence of love,

Cardiovascular health is not just about physical fitness, but also how we discover an intrinsic serenity about our lives and where we are going and where we fit.  The Heart is regularly associated with love and happiness and represents a state of tranquillity. When we become stressed or when there is an absence of self-expression, this can directly have an impact on this organ’s function. This is what happens with Broken Heart Syndrome (takotsubo cardiomyopathy), a temporary heart condition that’s often brought on by stressful situations.

Stomach Health: Chronic stress, worry, and anxiety

With long term stress the Stomach function becomes damaged very quickly. When the appropriate Stomach function and that of its partner organ the Spleen (includes the pancreas), it is easy to start suffering from poor digestive health and low metabolic function. Symptoms can include fatigue, poor appetite, bloating, weight loss or gain, memory problems, pastiness, poor condition of the hair, nails and skin. It’s important to eat properly and frequently nourish the body properly to reduce worry.

Lung Health: Grief and sadness

These emotions can damage the Lung along with its partner the Large Intestine, as they deplete the body of energy and weaken the nervous system over time. Failing to “Let things go” is an unhealthy way to go through life so by letting go we can invigorate the Lung’s function and clear ourselves of physical and emotional baggage. Symptoms connected with lung issues are unnecessary crying, circulation problems, chest tightness, shortness of breath, asthma, recurrent colds and chest infections, psoriasis and eczema (In Chinese medicine the skin pores are under the lungs control).

Kidney and Adrenal Health: Fear

Kidneys control the adrenal system and are the “back-up” generator for energy in the body according to Chinese Medicine, providing additional Qi to all the organs when required. The emotion that effects this organ the most is fear, and if they are low in energy then you feel exhausted and heavy and healthy digestion starts to deteriorate. Symptoms can be hearing loss, general malaise to exhaustion, headaches, loss of appetite, brain and nervous system issues, numbness in hands and feet, sleep issues, low libido and menstruation problems.

RSI  (Repetitive strain injury)

RSI treatment comes with the following statement: “Warning: Before beginning an program of physical inactivity, consult your doctor. Sedentary living is abnormal and dangerous to your health.”

Frank Forencich, Exuberant Animal: The Power of Health, Play and Joyful Movement

Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) is a broad term that applies to 2 main categories: problems relating to tendons or cellulitis (inflammation of soft tissue), and Upper Limb Disorders (U.L.D.). It may also be referred to as work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs).

These are all basic terms that cover a variety of conditions that can be experienced in many workplaces.

The modern age of electronic typewriters, computers, mobile phones and laptops have replaced large and cumbersome workplace office equipment in an ever increasing search for efficiency. It is generally thought that ‘efficient’ is better and smarter. Bodies were built for larger, gross movements that require muscles being taken through a larger range of motion that is absent from many of the workplaces in modern lifestyle.

Many labouring jobs require a limited and frequently used movement such as bending, lifting, stacking and other manual work.

When larger muscle movements are replaced with smaller, repetitive and numerous tasks such as clicking a mouse, staring at a screen placed off to one side, or even picking up bottles working at a brewery (speaking from experience) the muscles and other tissues are prone to strain, tightness, Trigger Points and general dysfunction.

Some of these conditions are, but not limited to:

• Tennis Elbow
• De Quervain’s Syndrome
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
• Wrist tendinosis
• Trigger Finger

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6303661_Repetitive_strain_injury

Other areas that are prone to injury are the shoulder, upper back and neck. Any job that requires a repeated motion or prolonged, sedentary posture increases the risk of an injury.

Age, stress and other factors can play a role in an increased likelihood as well.

A 2007 report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics placed nearly one third of workplace injuries as muscle strains or sprains, the most commonly reported injuries.  “While office work may seem relatively low risk, there are a number of health issues that can be attributed to the use of computers. Awkward or stationary postures may lead to back or neck pain, and repetitive tension or motion, such as mouse work, may lead to strain injuries”

https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/63ED457234C2F22DCA25732C002080A7

Chinese Medicine views pain in the body as a sign of dis-harmony: where there is pain or discomfort, there is a blockage. Tui Na, amongst the other applications of Chinese Medicine, seeks to restore the flow of Qi and Blood to the site of pain. Tui Na will also physically remove adhesions between tissues, stretch out restricted connective tissue, release the tight muscles associated with the tendons and promote restorative blood flow to the area and encourage the body to heal itself.

Typical interventions for RSI are rest, physical therapy from a qualified practitioner who may prescribe corrective exercises, corticosteroid injections, non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), tricyclic antidepressants and sedatives, surgery, and the ‘wait and see’ approach.

So if you are experiencing any discomfort from prolonged periods of work, get yourself checked by a qualified doctor for a proper diagnosis. Tui Na may be able to provide relief from the aches and pains that can arise from the workplace.