Tui na

Tui Na (which literally means “push grab”) is a form of traditional Chinese massage used to treat injuries, joint and muscle problems and internal disorders. Practiced by healers and martial artists for thousands of years, tui na massage increases energy flow and blood circulation throughout the entire body, removing blockages and stagnations caused by injuries, exercise and/or aging. Patients have been known to prevent illness, recover quickly from fatigue and aches, and find relief from stress and physical tension through tui na massage.

Tui-Na is also unlike either massage or chiropractic in technique and theory. On a theoretical level, Tui-Na uses traditional Chinese medical theory as a basis for treatment. Concepts of chi (ch’i, qi, or ki) energy, blood, yin & yang, and essence play pivotal roles. On a technical level, Tui-Na is far more broad and encompassing than either massage or chiropractic medicine. Massage, by and large, does not treat diseases, but rather relaxes muscle tension and increases local circulation to relieve discomfort. However, most massage systems lack the kind of comprehensive scope that Tui-Na is known for. Most massage is also unable to effectively treat disturbances in bone alignment. Chiropractic, on the other hand, while it may reliably reduce misalignments in bony structures, generally does not spend adequate time treating the muscles surrounding the bony structures before and after re-alignment. As a result, many patients of chiropractic complain of a rebound effect following treatments. Tui-Na, however, treats the muscular tension surrounding bony structures in such a way as to minimize the rebound effect immediately following treatments.