What is Paediatric Tui Na?
Paediatric Tui Na is a therapeutic, gentle and non-invasive external therapy for children. It stimulates acupoints to enhance your child’s immune system, growth, overall well-being, and it is an effective modality to treat and prevent illness. Paediatric Tui Na is best for children under 6 years old because their acupoints are more pronounced and easily stimulated for immediate result in a shorter span of time.
The duration of Paediatric Tui Na can vary according to the child’s age and condition. Each session is between 20-30 minutes for children under 3 years old and covers the head, face, stomach, back, legs and hands. The entire session is gentle and painless, and on point to provide effective results.
- Child Friendly
- Gentle & Non-Invasive
- Therapeutic
- Treat and Prevent Illness
- Support Growth and Overall Well-being
Top 5 Childhood Conditions
As parents, your priority is definitely the well-being of your child. Regulating a child’s organ functions through Paediatric Tui Na is both effective to build up the child’s natural immunity or to prevent common paediatric ailments to purge out pathogenic factors when the child is sick. Here are the Top 5 Common Childhood Conditions that Tui Na massages can help your child improve the condition. Find out if your child is experiencing the following symptoms and conditions.
Asthma
When Asthma attacks the child, the child’s airways become narrow and swell, which will make breathing difficult, and you can hear your child produce a wheezing or whistling sound. Some children will need medical treatment or use a quick-relief inhaler, nebulizer when suffering from an asthma attack.
Did you know?
Did you know that Asthma affects about one in five children in Singapore? Child diagnosed with Asthma will be easily prone to respiratory diseases such as coughing which may lead to an Asthma attack any time. Hence, it is important to control the symptoms since this condition can be life-threatening too.
Causes of Asthma
A child developing asthma can be due to hereditary and environmental factors, which in TCM perspective we categorise them as inner cause and external cause.
Hereditary Asthma (Internal Cause)
The inner cause is mainly due to lung, spleen and kidney deficiency, which the body couldn’t have enough energy to remove the phlegm retention, hence, developing the root cause of asthma condition. If either parent has an asthma condition, you can pay more attention to your child’s symptoms to identify if your child is having an asthma condition and to seek treatment early.
Environment Factor (External Cause)
External cause is defined as the allergic reaction with the contact point of objects and bacteria. So parents tend to observe and take special note of what was passed to their child prior to the onset of the allergic reaction. Some of the most common causes of allergic reaction are dust mite, pollen, animal fur or feathers, fumes, pollution or airborne irritants.
4 Types of Asthma In TCM Perspective
In TCM’s perspective, 哮喘 is an asthmatic condition which causes difficulty in breathing. It is differentiated in 2 categories – Acute and Chronic asthma. Here’s the 4 most common body constitutions present in children that are affected by asthma.
Cold-Based Asthma (寒性哮喘)
In TCM perspective, this belongs to acute 哮喘, which is usually short term and can be cured quickly.
Common Symptoms
- Watery Phlegm
- White Phlegm with Bubbles
- Cold Hands and Feet
- Pale Tongue with White Coating
Heat-Based Asthma (热性哮喘)
In TCM perspective, this is classified as acute asthma 哮喘 as well.
Common Symptoms
- Yellow and Sticky Phlegm
- Feeling Thirsty Easily
- Craving for Cold Drinks
- Frequent Perspiration
- Red Swollen Tongue with Yellow Coating
Kidney-Deficiency Asthma (肾虚哮喘)
This is classified as chronic or prolonged asthma where it can take a longer duration to recover from that state. Also, improving such body constitution takes time and effort.
Common Symptoms
- Prolonged Asthma Conditions
- Irregular Breath (Short and Long Exhalation)
- Shortness of Breath with Physical Activities
Lung and Spleen-Deficiency Asthma (肺脾气虚哮喘)
Similar to kidney deficiency asthma, this is also classified as chronic asthma.
Common Symptoms
- Shortness of Breath during Conversation
- Recurring Cold Condition
- Discomfort when Exposing to Wind
- Pale Tongue with White Coating
Home Remedies for Parents
In TCM’s perspective, Acupoints 天突 (Tian Tu) 定喘 (Ding Chuan) 肺腧 (Fei Shu) 搓摩肋胁 (Cuo Mo Le Xie) are beneficial to relieve the symptoms and speed up the body recovery.
天突 (Tian Tu)
Acupoint Location: 天突 is located above the midpoint above two collar bones and above the sternum (the T-Shaped vertical bone between your collar bone).
How to massage: You can sit your child up and face you for you to find the acupoint easier. Use your thumb tip to knead gently for 2 mins. Take note that you should only use light and gentle pressure to avoid causing your child to feel uncomfortable and airway being blocked.
Benefit: Regulate Qi, Reduce phlegm, Wheezing shortness of breath, Reduce cough
定喘 (Ding Chuan)
Acupoint Location: 定喘 is the two acupoints located at two sides of the most prominent bone at the bottom of the neck, connected to the back.
How to massage: Let your child lie face down. Use your index and middle finger to form a V to gently massage in an up-down motion for 2 minutes.
Benefit: Expel ‘wind’, relieve cold, soothe lung and wheezing shortness of breath
肺腧 (Fei Shu)
Acupoint Location: 肺腧 is below 定喘 (Ding Chuan), located in between the inner scapula and 3rd Spinous Process. It might be difficult to locate the exact point. So you can attempt to massage the area that will stimulate the acupoint.
How to massage: Use thumbs kneed in circular, up-down and left-right motion for 2 mins each
Benefit: Stop cough, reduce phlegm, nourish the lungs
搓摩肋胁 (Cuo Mo Le Xie)
How to massage: Make your child sit up front or back facing you. The area that you can massage is the side of your child’s rib cage, and the front and back of the rib cage.Use your 4 fingers to gently stroke and rub in circular, vertical up-down and horizontal motion for 2 mins each.
Benefit: Relieve and loosen muscles around the rib cage, increase lung capacity. Muscles tensed up when you cough, and your child will feel stuffy and restricted at the lung especially during breathing (胸闷)
Relief your child asthma symptom with TCM Paediatric Tui Na
Constipation
The constipation episode doesn’t just end here because some children may develop a phobia of pooping especially if the pooping ordeal is painful and tedious. Traces of blood in the poop could be visible too with excessive pushing which causes tears in the rectum. A constipated child exhibits symptoms such as a bloated stomach and loss of appetite too. And being constipated can also cause the child to be extremely fussy with flatulence build up causing a hard and bloated tummy.
Did you know?
Your child’s bowel movement can tell you about their health condition. Does your child have less than 3 bowel movements in a week? Are the poops usually hard, dry and difficult to pass out? These are common signs of childhood constipation and are highly prevalent among children who don’t take in lots of fluids or fibre-rich food such as fruits and vegetables.
4 Types of Constipation in TCM Perspective
The cause of constipation can be affected by different factors such as dietary habits, emotion fluctuation and heatiness in body constitution. In TCM perspective, there are 4 common body constitutions present that are affected by Constipation.
Feeding habits (乳食积滞)
Over feeding is one common habit that parents do, and alongside child’s Spleen Deficiency, it will be easy for add more stress on the spleen causing your child to experience constipation.
Another common feeding habit is the inclusion of air during feeding, such as vigorously shaking the milk bottle to mix the formula milk well with water. Though unintentional, it is still very common for such incidents to occur. This will cause your child’s stomach to bloat, adding more stress to your child’s stomach and spleen function leading to constipation.
Heatiness (邪热伤津)
It is common for children to be affected by the humidity and the ‘heaty’ environment in Singapore. In addition, highly processed fast food and sweetened treats can worsen the heatiness condition in your child’s body constitution. This will cause your child stools to harden and lead to constipation.
Qi Stagnation (气机郁滞)
This is usually affected by the child’s habit such as prolonged periods of sitting and lack of movement, affecting the bowel movement. Thereafter, causing constipation and the fear of pooping, which then lead to Qi Stagnation and worsening of the constipation condition.
Qi and Blood Deficiency (气血亏虚)
This can be due to the existing body constitution, medical issues or even consumption of medicine, causing a child to experience Qi and Blood deficiency. This will lead to the lack of energy and decrease of bowel movement causing constipation.
Home Remedies for Parents
膊阳池 (Bo Yang Chi)
Acupoint Location: With the palm facing down, 膊阳池 (Bo Yang Chi) is located at the 3 fingers* away from the wrist and midpoint of the forearm. *Do note to use your child’s finger as a measurement.
How to massage: Use the thumb tip to rub gently clockwise and anticlockwise for 2 mins each.
Benefit: Improve bowel movement
七节骨 (Qi Jie Gu) & 龟尾 (Gui Wei)
Acupoint Location: 七节骨 at the centre line of the body, between the waistline to the start of the tailbone which known as 龟尾. 龟尾 is located at the top of the folding part of the buttock.
How to massage: Make the child face down. Use 3 fingers to massage in left-right motion at the 七节骨 for 1,5 minutes. Use the thumb tip to rub gently on 龟尾 in circular motion for 1.5mins.
Alternatively, you can also massage both 七节骨 (Qi Jie Gu) & 龟尾 (Gui Wei) together.
Benefit: Regulate bowel movement and improve large intestine
