3 Traditional Chinese Therapies to Keep You Healthy

3 Traditional Chinese Therapies to Keep You Healthy
Feb 01, 2013 By Duncan Muir , eChinacities.com

Traditionally, in western medicine the focus is very much upon treating illnesses rather than preventing them. We wait until we are sick, then we visit the doctor, sometimes much later than we should. Though the more health-conscious among us might eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly, there doesn’t seem to be much we can do to prevent catching colds or the dreaded flu. The Chinese, however, have a very different perspective on staying healthy. In fact, Traditional Chinese Medicine has a long history of non-invasive therapies that are just as focussed on preventing future illnesses as curing one that has already developed. Some of these treatments are said to promote wellbeing and keep muscle pain, colds and flu at bay. We’ve all heard of the benefits of acupuncture, but here are three other traditional therapies that can help you stay healthy as winter begins to bite.

1) Tui Na – 推拿
Tui Na is a form of Chinese massage related to Shiatsu and bone setting. The technique involves pressing, kneading and twiddling the body at and around the acupressure points. A great deal of attention is also given to the vertebrae and other bones in the back. This treatment can be quite different to Western ideas of massage. For a start, you remain fully clothed throughout with a sheet draped over your body. The practitioner will then work on specific areas through the sheet. This is a dry massage, so no oil is used, but heated bean bags are laid on top of whatever body part is not being massaged at that time. Bearing this in mind it’s best to wear light, loose clothing when going for Tui Na, lest you find yourself slowly cooking beneath the sheet.

It’s also important to bear in mind that Tui Na is much rougher and deeper than most massages. The aim here is not solely relaxation, but is rather to get the chi energy moving through your muscles and meridians. If you are skinny, like me, you will find your body rocking around on the bed as your practitioner vigorously kneads your spine. Some people find Tui Na painful, while others find it extremely relaxing and will fall asleep while the treatment is being administered. In fact, it’s not uncommon to hear someone snoring from the next bed. Regardless of this, all seem to agree that the after effects are great, and that all the knocking, rocking and kneading is undoubtedly worth it.

Tui Na can be used to treat muscle or joint pain, but if you have a specific condition you should inform the practitioner of this before the treatment. It has also been said to alleviate headaches, migraines, IBS and constipation. You can have an hour long session for around 60 RMB, but price may vary from place to place.

2) Fire Cupping – baguanfa – 拔罐法
During the sweltering Chinese summer when people wear lighter clothing, you will often see the unmistakeable red and purple circular marks on the backs of more sparsely-clad followers of traditional medicine. These discolorations, which often have the same colour as love bites, are the after effects of fire cupping, a treatment which involves creating vacuums against the skin using a series of glass jars, or cups, of various sizes. Fire cupping has a long history in Asia and beyond; it has even been recorded in ancient Greek writing and Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The process begins with a gentle oil massage moving up and down the length of the spine. Next, one cup is attached to the skin at the top of the vertebrae and this is moved up and down the length of the back dragging its vacuum as it goes, sucking the skin and separating your fatty tissue from the muscle beneath. This is the most painful point of the therapy and if you can bear the pain at this stage then the rest of the process should be much easier. Once the spine has received its attention all 18 cups are attached onto the back. As each is suckered into place the flesh becomes more and more numb, the skin increasingly taught, until with the added weight of the glass and the numbness and immobility of the vacuums you begin to feel like you are wearing a turtle shell on your back. The cups are left in place for 10 minutes, then each is removed with a hissing noise and the treatment is completed with a short massage.

Cupping can be used to treat many conditions, I know veteran expats who swear by the treatment to stop an approaching cold or flu, but the therapy is also said to treat arthritis, swollen limbs, migraines, and even anxiety and depression. Bearing in mind the breadth of ailments cupping can improve, a 20 minute treatment is a bargain at around 50 RMB.

3) Gua Sha – 刮痧
Gua Sha seems the most intimidating of these three therapies, but it also sounds much worse than it actually is. The technique involves scraping the back with a ceramic spoon, an old coin, worn animal bones or horns, or a smooth piece of jade. The process begins with a light oil massage; then, the scraping begins. Though your back is being scraped with a hard object, it’s important to remember that the object is smooth and blunt and that your back is lubricated with oil, making its passage across the skin much lighter. Still, the process lasts for around 20 minutes and this length of repetitive scraping will leave a mark no matter how blunt the spoon or well lubricated the back is.

Different people react to different therapies in various ways. For me, Gua Sha was more relaxing than either Tui Na or fire cupping; I left the massage bed feeling light and relaxed and practically floated along the road home. That said, for others it is a painful process. Of course, this not only depends on your body and how it reacts, but also on the practitioner who is carrying out the treatment. Some are rougher than others.

Gua Sha literally means ‘to scrape away fever’ and it is often used in the same way as cupping to purge the body of an oncoming cold or flu. It is claimed that the technique can also be used to treat muscular pain, asthma and bronchitis. Gua sha is also very cheap: you can have a 20 minute treatment for around 50 RMB. 

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Keywords: traditional Chinese therapies Tui Na traditional health treatments in China Gua Sha fire cupping

8 Comments

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diverdude1

cupping. too funny. :-p but I do know that Voodoo works ! It's a Fact too ! ok,, I'm not good at sarcasm. I am amazed at this day and age with relatively logical thinking homo-sapiens being in the majority, that we Still have those running around telling us how superstitions are real. e.g. Fortune Telling, 8 is a good number, 13 is a bad number, etc.

Feb 05, 2013 12:45 Report Abuse

diverdude1

Cancer incidence and mortality rates in China -There are approximately 3.12 million new cancer cases each year—an average of 8,550 per day or six people being diagnosed with some form of cancer every minute. -The cancer incidence rate increases with age: 87.07 per 100,000 people for the 35-39 year-olds and 154.53 per 100,000 people for the 40-44 year-olds; the cancer incidence rate in the 50-plus group accounts for approximately 80% of all cases in China, with nearly 1% of the 60-plus age group being diagnosed with cancer. -The cancer mortality rate nationwide is 180.54 per 100,000 people, meaning that approximately 2.7 million Chinese die from cancer each year. -At present, a Chinese person diagnosed with cancer has a 13% chance of dying from it; cancer proves fatal in one in every 7-8 people diagnosed with it.

Feb 05, 2013 13:00 Report Abuse

orientexpressguy

Chinese medicine can be traced back to at least the time of the Yellow Emperor and I have much respect for it. In the West the GPs get a commission for prescribing particular drugs, also the side affects can be diabolical. For example prolonged use of steroids can lead to diabetes. Ibrufen and other powerful painkillers can lead to serious ulcers and lethal consequences.

Feb 03, 2013 02:17 Report Abuse

13david

No mention of Liang Cha herbs , sold on most streets in China. The locals swear by it. When I had a sore throat coming on I tried it. Streuth is was so bitter that the sweet drink i was then offered was most welcomed. The sore throat disappeared in hours. Wish I could find it in Australia, beats asprin and strepsils every time.

Feb 02, 2013 09:51 Report Abuse

eurotrash

Cupping and scraping both work for me when performed by a well-trained practitioner. For example, if one ever gets the dreaded "Beijing cough," this is the only way to get rid of it quickly. Of course, you can just wait up to a year for it to go away by itself.

Feb 01, 2013 18:01 Report Abuse

MrTibbles

None of these are proven to do anything. "Cupping" covers your body in giant hickies, "scraping" is a joke, and a heavy beat you down massage is just that: a massage. No human being has the power to break molecular bonds in muscles to "remove toxins" with their bare hands. This stuff is about as effective at treating and preventing disease as punching yourself repeatedly in the leg over and over again. It might be relaxing, and if you find it as such, go right ahead and do it, just don't try and pass this crap off as medicine or treatments for ANYTHING. Smart people who understand science are laughing at you and your tribal witchdoctors.

Feb 01, 2013 10:37 Report Abuse

beijinger333

I have met many Chinese people during my extended stay here in China and, honestly, I don't think Chinese people do too much exercise. They don't run or lift weights, maybe some of the older people do taichi, but by and large, most don't do anything on a regular basis. People just make that association because they are thinner than Westerners.

Feb 01, 2013 11:15 Report Abuse

Rob

Causality exists Rain no matter how much you like or hate it. For instance, I despise posters who aren't able to distinguish what is written in an article. After reading it, somehow what was written becomes what they thought was written. No matter how much I despise them they still continue to post things that have nothing to do with the article. Somehow they become the veteran expat that is all knowing. Go figure.

Nov 22, 2011 19:02 Report Abuse