Tui Na is the acupressure massage therapy of Chinese medicine. It uses exactly the same diagnostic principles and theory as acupuncture (TCM), and treatments can vary between a subtle approach (Yin style) that focuses on point stimulation (useful for people who are needle phobic) and a stronger, deep tissue type massage (Yang style).
Usually, a combination of both styles is used.
Rolling (Gun Fa) & Suppressing (An Fa)
For many of the musculoskeletal conditions I treat, my preference is to combine Tui Na with acupuncture, as I have found this approach to be very successful. However, Tui Na is a highly effective stand alone therapy.
As with acupuncture, adjunctive therapies such as cupping, Gua Sha & moxibustion are often used alongside the various manual techniques of Tui Na, of which there are approximately 30 different types.
Channel Palpation Diagnosis (Tui Fa – Pushing) One Finger Meditation (Yi Zhi Chan Tui Fa)
In addition, I use various external herbal preparations, such as liniments, poultices & herbal plasters, which patients can apply between sessions to enhance the effects of treatment – many of which I make myself using traditional Chinese herbal formulas.
