Tuina

Chinese Acupressure Massage

^{Tuina is thousands of years old and is sometimes spelt Tui-na. It is part of Chinese Medicine. Do not confuse “Chinese Acupressure Massage” with the “Acupressure Massage”, often taught as evening classes at the local College, they are different. Tuina (Chinese Acupressure Massage needs a thorough knowledge of the Acupuncture points and Meridians as well as Chinese Medicine Theory.}

^{How is Tuina used?}

^{There are over 20 techniques used in Tuina and these use the fingers, palms, wrists, and elbows to invigorate Acupuncture points and Meridians. I mainly use it as an adjunctive therapy. That is alongside for instance, Acupuncture. If I have a Patient who’s musculoskeletal problem is not getting better then I will often turn to Tuina to get things started. Patients who are scared of needles may want Tuina. This form of Acupressure Massage can treat many problems. Because you are using the Acupuncture points and Meridians as in Acupuncture. It can be quite funny when you treat someone with Sciatica and have to use your elbow on the muscle of the bottom! It can also be very subtle using techniques such as the ‘Vibrating finger’ technique on points on the tummy.}

How to learn Tui-na

To learn Tuina from scratch with no knowledge of Chinese Medicine will take at least 3 years. I was taught by a lady called Sarah Pritchard at The College of Integrated Chinese medicine in Reading. She went to China to study Tui-na for 5 years and could do one technique with one hand whilst doing another with the other! I used to also practice Therapeutic Massage but we are in very litigious society at the moment so it is not safe for solo Male Therapists to do Massage any more, a very sad situation and doesn’t promote equality very well.