Tui-na (pronounced ‘twee nar’) Is a whole-body integrative massage system that uses the diagnostics of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Tui-na involves both light and strong massage techniques to rebalance the body. Tui-na is carried out with the patient dressed in loose clothes, so make sure you wear comfortable clothing when you come for treatment.

In a typical session, the client lies on a massage table. The practitioner examines the specific problems of the client and begins to apply a specific treatment protocol. The major focus of the application is upon specific pain sites, acupressure points, energy meridians, and muscles and joints. Sessions last 1 hour, which includes Chinese Medicine diagnosis, examination and treatment. Depending on the specific problems of the client, they may return for a full course of treatments. The client usually feels relaxed and energized by the treatment.

Chinese herbal medicine has a recorded history of over 2,000 years and is the oldest form of medicine still in use today.

Herbal medicine has been continually refined and developed by many doctors and schools over the centuries and modern research has been conducted into many aspects of its use. This process continues today with the development of modern medical diagnostic techniques and knowledge.

Today’s practitioners have the benefit of classical wisdom and empirical research, as well as modern biomedical research.

About the herbs

Chinese Herbal Medicine works on the same diagnostic basis as Acupuncture. Its aim is to treat the presenting symptom AND the underlying cause by stimulating the body’s own healing ability. As with Acupuncture, the process is one of looking for connections rather than reducing the focus on a single symptom. With Chinese medicine, several symptoms can have the same underlying cause.

Chinese Medicine recognises that health is more than just the absence of disease and it can both maintain and enhance our capacity for well-being. A herbal prescription usually contains about 9-18 different herbs which when combined work synergistically to create an effective treatment.

Some commonly presented conditions seen is the herb clinic are:

• Skin disease, including eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea, urticaria
• Gastro-intestinal disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation, ulcerative colitis
• Gynaecological conditions, including pre-menstrual syndrome and dysmenorrheal, endometriosis, infertility
• Chronic fatigue syndromes, whether with a background of viral infection or in other situations
• Respiratory conditions, including asthma, bronchitis, chronic coughs, allergic and perennial rhinitis and sinusitis
• Rheumatological conditions (e.g. osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis)
• Urinary conditions including chronic cystitis
• Psychological problems (e.g. depression, anxiety)
• Muscular Skeletal, including acute and chronic back pain, sciatica