Acupressure, Tui Na & Medical Qigong
By Dr. Bruce Eichelberger, OMD |
In this series of articles we’ve covered many aspects of Oriental Medicine. The final one will touch on the Oriental bodywork therapies. These include acupressure, tui na, and medical qigong.
Like all Oriental Medicine disciplines, these bodywork therapies focus on balancing body energies, resulting in increased health and vitality. In the process, symptoms of pain and illness vanish as the body returns to healthy balance. Although some of these practices have similarities to Western massage techniques, practitioners approach treatments from a somewhat different perspective.
Here is a quick overview of each of these body therapies and how they work:
Acupressure uses the same points as acupuncture, but without the needles. Typically, the acupressure practitioner stimulates points relevant to rebalancing someone’s health one or two at a time for several minutes each. This might happen with a very light touch or a much firmer pressure, depending on the desired effect. Each point gets several minutes of this pressure before moving on to other points.
Some may not want acupuncture because they are afraid of needles. Acupressure may be a suitable alternative. Practitioners will often ask if the patient has had acupressure before as acupressure can actually be more uncomfortable than acupuncture because it involves pressing and holding tender areas of the body.
Tui na is similar to acupressure, but goes beyond it by including more rubbing and manipulation techniques. There are 13 primary techniques in tui na. The name itself means “pressing and grasping” and these techniques include “mo” (rubbing with the palms), “dian” (pressing with the fingers), “rou” (kneading), “pok” (striking the body with cupped hand) and “ca” (rolling muscles and skin).
In general, tui na removes blockages to energy flow, increases circulation of qi and blood, helps realign and mobilize joints, heals soft tissue injuries, adjusts internal organs and regulates nerves.
It is very effective for musculoskeletal issues and even deep organ problems. One popular use for the technique is dislodging stuck phlegm during or after a cold by using the technique of striking the back with a cupped hand. This creates enough of a deep, penetrating vibration to dislodge the stuck phlegm.
Medical qigong is a form of direct energy work. The practitioner first senses energy imbalances in the body, looking for either blockages or weaknesses. They then use their hands to rebalance these problems.
The appearance of the process looks a bit like someone waving their hands over the patient. The patient typically experiences a level of deep relaxation and a pleasant tingling sensation as the energy in their body begins flowing more naturally once more.
All three of these techniques work very well together, although not every practitioner trains in all three of them. In fact, most people tend to specialize in only one of them.
References:
1. Medical Qigong Exercise Prescriptions, Friedman, Suzanne, Xlibris Corporation, 2006
2. Acupressure’s Potent Points: A Guide to Self-Care for Common Ailments, Gach, Michael Reed, Ph.D., Bantam, 1990
3. Chinese Tui Na Massage: The Essential Guide to Treating Injuries, Improving Health & Balancing Qi, Xiangcai, Xu, YMAA Publication Center, 2002
For more info, call Dr. Eichelberger at (775) 827-6901, www.RenoAlternativeMedicine.com, specializing in individualized acupuncture, herbal medicine and metabolic typing.
