BIRMINGHAM CENTRE FOR CHINESE MEDICINE
245 Alcester Road South, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 6DT
Tel: 0121-441 2757
THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE
Massage is used as part of all Eastern healing systems to relieve stress, promote relaxation and treat a wide variety of illnesses.
Indian (Ayurveda), Tibetan, Japanese and Chinese medicine all embrace massage as a proven & valued method of healing – rather than taking the Western view that it is "pampering for the privileged".
Massage has many benefits. It promotes circulation, increases flexibility, relieves pain and stiffness, helps the body detoxify and eliminate waste and gives a psychological lift to alleviate the "brain overload" which has become so much a part of modern day life.
Touch plays a less significant role in the British way of life and this touch-deprivation can in itself reduce the body’s coping mechanisms and reduce the effectiveness of the immune systems. It is well researched and documented that premature babies fare better when they receive human touch along with medication. Massage can fill this gap in a pleasant and appropriate way for those who live alone or have little physical contact with others.
Your massage treatment will be specifically tailored to suit your needs. A full history is taken to ensure that you receive a treatment which energises or calms, relieves pain or mental stress, manipulates to stretch and restore muscle function, balancing mind, body and spirit to leave you feeling physically and mentally relaxed, even making breathing easier.
TUINA – CHINESE MASSAGE
Tuina is a dynamic, energising-but-relaxing treatment that helps all the body’s systems to function normally. In China, massage is practised in the hospitals and clinics alongside acupuncture and herbal medicine. Tuina means "push and grasp" and is massage in its loosest sense. It is used to treat a variety of ailments - including those to which a Western doctor may comment "you’ll just have to live with it". Chinese doctors use Tuina to help people who have, for instance, suffered a mild stroke or acute digestive conditions. It often gives immediate relief from pain, improves mobility and function and provides the sufferer with a better quality of life
Tuina is generally given through the clothes.
During a treatment the body is rocked, rolled with the practitioner’s hand (which feels a little like a wooden roller), acupoints are pressed and the whole body is moved and manipulated to "persuade" the body to relax and allow each muscle and tissue to be restored.
The added benefit is that muscles are directly worked to reduce stiffness and pain, and the gentle manipulations give added flexibility. Although your body will be constantly on the move during treatment, the effects are profoundly relaxing for the mind – instilling a sense of release and relief from all pain, tension and stress. After treatment, people have commented that they have increased energy, feel younger, that they are taller, lighter, more flexible.
Tuina has been described as "acupuncture without needles" It works on the same principles as acupuncture but uses the practitioner’s thumb/hand/elbow pressure on the points and meridians instead of needles, so it is perfect for those who are needle-phobic!
THERAPEUTIC/DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE
This type of treatment is the oil-based massage that is better-known in the West. It has similar properties to Tuina but the differences are that this massage calms the body rather than boosting energy. It is ideally suited to those who feel their body is tight, tense and taut – perhaps with a mind that is anxious, restless and unable to relax or switch off.
Because treatment utilises oil and balms directly onto the skin, this massage is excellent for working into the deeper muscles and structures to relieve pain that has built up over time. The oils have properties to stimulate circulation and activate the body’s own healing properties.
THE TREATMENT
Massage can help in the treatment of many ailments. Whether for relaxation, or to maintain health, massage is an ideal treatment to keep muscles firm and toned and keep the body’s systems working to their optimum. It is not necessary to be unwell to have regular massage. Many cultures, throughout the world, use massage as an essential part of their health regime. Each massage is different, as treatment is adapted to suit the individual patient’s current needs. Practitioners may use a mixture of Tuina and Therapeutic massage. For instance, for someone with low back pain, Tuina can be used to loosen and relax the back and hips – reminding the body that it can move. Oil massage would then relax and release specific muscles which have gone into spasm or become over-tense.
CONDITIONS WELL TREATED BY MASSAGE
Musculo-skeletal disorders such as back and shoulder pain, stiff neck, joint sprains, inflammation of the joints, cervical spondylitis, disc problems and other muscular or joint pain and spasm.
Massage is very helpful in alleviating stress or tension induced headaches, insomnia and depression.
Tuina also treats internal disorders including epigastric pain, chronic diarrhoea, constipation, IBS, palpitations, depression, chronic fatigue, all types of headaches, bronchitis, insomnia, hypertension and sinusitis
THE PRACTITIONERS
Amy Walker (LCMDip) trained at the London College of Massage. She teaches and has a special interest in baby massage, as she is also a fully qualified nanny, and in massage during pregnancy and labour.
COST OF TREATMENT
Therapeutic massage £30 per session
Tuina £30 per session
Half sessions £18