Traditional Chinese Foot Massage

I’m a huge fan of CBS’s Amazing Race- but last weeks episode made me a little uncomfortable.

The contestants first Roadblock was to endure a 10-minute Chinese traditional foot massage. Sounds great huh? Well take a look at some of their faces and try not to wince at just the thought…

Amazing Race Photos: Amazing Race 14 Episode 10 - CBS.com

So what is this painful “therapy” really all about? Apparently it’s some ancient Chinese tradition known as Tuina, a medical method using the arms, hands, fingers, elbows and knees as tools for treating diseases and illnesses. Tuina is also used to protect health and build up body immunity, so that disease can be stopped in its beginning acting as a preventative medical measure, without any side effects.

Tuina uses techniques and manipulations to stimulate acupuncture points or other parts of the body surface so as to correct physiological imbalances of the body and achieve curative effects. The effect of Tuina is to disperse and smooth obstructions whilst checking and restraining hyperfunction. Tuina is an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which also encompasses acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition and exercise to treat the whole body, mind and spirit.

In summary, Tuina rectifies anatomical anomalies, alters the inner energy state of the biological system and adjusts the bio-information of the body. For soft tissue injuries, Tuina relaxes muscles and tendons and promotes smooth passage of the channels. It also promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis. (http://www.chisuk.org.uk)

Hopefully we’ll get some real insight into whether this method could possibly be worth the torture! Update to follow ASAP! In the meantime, here’s an example foot chart for you to use if you wanna give it a try at home…

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