Tuina massage is one of the techniques of traditional Chinese medicine. Its effectiveness is proven to calm neck pain.
About two in three people have neck pain. These pains are considered chronic when they last more than three months. Researchers have proven the effectiveness of the Chinese massage called tuina to calm them. This technique has been shown to be safe, cost effective, compared to a total absence of treatment.
The results of this research were published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
An ancestral technique
Tuina massage is one of the five branches of traditional Chinese medicine. It is based on two manipulations: pushing (“tui” in Chinese) and grabbing (“na” in Chinese). It is a technique considered energetic and used for millennia in China.
The person exercising it can use 300 different manipulations based on the different parts of the body and on the use of the fingers, hands, wrist, palm, elbow and even the feet.
Experimental validation
About twenty-two people participated in the study. They were divided by lot into two groups. One received nothing, the other received tuina massages. Six massages were given to them, two per week. For this group of people who benefited from the massage, the pain was significantly reduced after twelve weeks.
Dr Claudia Witt, one of the study’s authors, welcomes the results of this study: “The results are promising and call for further research on tuina”. However, it would have been preferable to test tuina massages against validated massages to assess their relative effectiveness.
In France, a bill is underway to integrate and recognize traditional Chinese medicine. Today only doctors trained during their studies in Chinese medicine can practice it.
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