| Chinese massage is a therapy with various manipulations applied to certain locations of the body. Due to the different influences from academic sources, regional cultures and practical experiences, it has developed many schools and branches; such as one-finger meditation massage, rolling massage, finger-pressing massage, digital acupressure massage, bone-setting massage, child massage, organs and meridians massage, chiropractic therapy and beauty massage.
In terms of massage techniques and treatment styles, each school has its own unique character. For example, most of the manipulations in Northern China are rapid and vigorous while those in Southern China are slow and gentle.
When massage is used on specific body regions, the stress acts locally to promote blood circulation and remove stagnations, restore impaired soft tissues and correct bone and joint deformities. Moreover, through the transmission of fluids, qi (vital energy) and blood, the manipulations also affect the functional state of the internal organs and create an effect on the outward body.
Sample protocols:
| Breast Tenderness |
| Use the middle finger to knead the acu-point tan-zhong for 2 minutes, massage with the palm over the chest region for 2 minutes, then use fingers to press and knead gan-shu, zhang-man, xue-hai and tai-chong for 2 minutes in each point. |
| Headache |
| Press on the eyebrows with palm edge, push to and fro repeatedly for 5 minutes, then use the thumb to press and knead slightly in the temple area for 4 minutes, push to and fro by one-finger meditation technique (see graphic) from the inner side of eyebrows to the temple area for 10 times. |
| Edema |
| Push and rub by one-finger meditation technique on the acu-points of zhong-tan, tin-shu, qi-hai and guan-yang for 10 minutes each. Then press and knead the acu-points pi-shu, shen-shu, wei-shu, da-chang-shu and zhang-qiang for 2 minutes each. |
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| Pushing with "one-finger meditation technique ". |
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