Tui na - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Tuina redirects here. For the moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

, see Tuina (moth)
Tuina (moth)
Tuina is a genus of moth in the family Arctiidae.-References:*...

.

Tui na , is a form of Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

manipulative therapy often used in conjunction with acupuncture

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....

, moxibustion

Moxibustion

Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy using moxa, or mugwort herb. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, and Mongolia. Suppliers usually age the mugwort and grind it up to a fluff; practitioners burn the fluff or...

, fire cupping

Fire cupping

Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a local suction is created on the skin; practitioners believe this mobilizes blood flow in order to promote healing. Suction is created using heat or mechanical devices...

, Chinese herbalism

Herbalism

Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...

, t'ai chi, and qigong

Qigong

Qigong or chi kung is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation...

.

Tui na is a hands-on body treatment that uses Chinese taoist and martial art principles to bring the body to balance. The principles being balanced are the eight principles

Eight principles

The Eight Principles are one of the basic ways traditional Chinese medicine has to diagnose. It uses the following eight divisions of symptoms:* Yin or Yang...

of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...

(qv because Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine

(TCM) was codified by the PRC out of many ancient traditions). The practitioner may brush, knead, roll/press and rub the areas between each of the joints (known as the eight gates) to open the body's defensive (wei) chi and get the energy moving in the meridians as well as the muscles. The practitioner can then use range of motion, traction

Traction

- Engineering :*Forces:** Traction , adhesive friction or force in the context of vehicle** Traction vector, in mechanics, the force per unit area on a surface, including normal and shear components...

, massage

Massage

Massage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle"...

, with the stimulation of acupressure points; this is claimed to treat both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions, as well as many non-musculoskeletal conditions. Tui na is an integral part of TCM and is taught in TCM schools as part of formal training in Oriental medicine. Many East Asian martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

schools also teach tui na to their advanced students for the treatment and management of injury and pain due to training. As with many other traditional Chinese medical practices, there are several different schools with greater or smaller differences in their approach to the discipline. It is related also to Chinese massage

Massage

or anma
Anma
Anma refers to practitioners of the Japanese massage of the same name, which has its origins in China. Anma was often practiced in communal business groups in feudal Japan. They were made popular by the famous popular culture character known as Zatoichi, quite possibly the best known and most...

(按摩).
In ancient China, medical therapy was often classified as either "external" or "internal" treatment. Tui na was one of the external methods, thought to be especially suitable for use on the elderly population and on infants. Today it is subdivided into specialized treatment for infants, adults, orthopedics, traumatology, cosmetology, rehabilitation, sports medicine, etc.

History

Similar techniques date back at least as far as the Shang Dynasty

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...

, around 1700 BC. Ancient inscriptions on oracle bones show that massage was used to treat infants and adult digestive conditions. In his book Jin Gui Yao Lue, Zhang Zhongjing, a famous physician in the Han Dynasty (206 BC), wrote: "As soon as the heavy sensation of the limbs is felt, "Daoyin

Tao Yin

Tao Yin is a series of breathing exercises practiced by Taoists to cultivate ch'i, the internal energy of the body according to Traditional Chinese Medicine....

", "Tui na", "Zhenjiu" and "Gaomo", all of which are therapeutic methods, are carried out in order to prevent [...] the disease from gaining a start." Around AD 700, Tui na had developed into a separate study in the Imperial Medical College.

The first reference to this type of external treatment was called "anwu", then the more common name became "anmo". It was subsequently popularized and spread to many other countries such as Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

As the art of massage continued to develop and gain structure, it merged (around 1600 AD) with another technique called tui na, which was the specialty of bone-setting using deep manipulation. It was also around this time that the different systems of tui na became popular, each with its own sets of rules and methods.

Today, the term Tui na has replaced anmo within China

China

and in the West. The term anmo is still used in some surrounding countries such as Japan.

Naprapathy

Naprapathy

Naprapathy - is a branch of alternative medicine, a manipulative therapy, that focuses on the evaluation and treatment of neuro-musculoskeletal conditions.-History:...

is also called Tui na massage.

Commonly used Tui na manipulations

An Fa (pressing method)

This is a pressing movement on a limited area or acupoint with the belly of thumb or palm, increasing force gradually to cause sour, numb, distending and radiating feeling in the patient's body.
Rou Fa (kneading method)

This is a kind of slow and gentle kneading movement in circles done with great thenar
Thenar eminence
The thenar eminence refers to the group of muscles on the palm of the human hand at the base of the thumb...

, palm root or finger belly on certain areas and acupoints.
Nian Fa (twiddling method)

This entails holding the area concerned with the bellies of the thumb and index finger, then twiddling quickly with mild strength.

History

Commonly used Tui na manipulations

See also