Chinese massage has been used for medical purposes in China for centuries. It goes back about 4, years. Written massage textbooks began to appear as early as the fourth century b.
It is now becoming popular in the West as a means of treating a wide range of health problems. Chinese massage is a systematic assessment and treatment of the muscles, tendons, ligaments and connective tissues of the body to assist in rehabilitation, pain and injury management.
It is not generally used for pleasure and relaxation, but rather as a treatment to address specific patterns of disharmony.
TCM practitioners think body energy must continuously flow to prevent stress and disease. Like acupuncture, TCM uses remedial massage to harmonise yin and yang in the body by manipulating the Qi in the acupuncture channels. They identify pathways with limited flow and use hand pressure to restore balance and energy circulation. In TCM pain is an indication that Qi is blocked or stuck. A Chinese massage therapist aims to remove blockages from the meridians invisible pathways in the body on which Qi flows and stimulate the flow of Qi.
To perform Chinese massage, the TCM practitioner uses a variety of hand techniques to manipulate the soft tissue of the body. It also employs acupressure to redirect the flow of Qi in the body and manual skeletal manipulation techniques to realign the bones and muscles in the body for optimal alignment.
