tuina clinic June 16th

Pretty busy when I first arrived, but it slowed down a lot by 10 or so. Lets see... the first patient was a woman in her 40s who's upper and lower back was painful. She had well developed muscles in her upper back- turns out she was doing manual labor in the hospital. Basically used the rolling technique, focussing on her upper shoulders, upper back, along her spine, sacral region and buttocks, and the entire back of the legs.

Next was an old man (80yrs) who was using one crane. He had a knee fracture (right leg) in the near past (perhaps was still recovering) but his main complaint was pain in the ankle of the same leg. He had two plasters on that ankle. I was very cautious at first but with his encouragement began working deeper into the muscles and tendons, especially that long one on the outside of the thigh. He said that was a sore area, especially down near the knee. In order to get into the area Dr. Xiao asked him to turn on his side which he did, but soon after another student came over to work on his face/head and asked him to lie on his back again. The two of them had a conversation; the old man seemed to be struggling with the notion that it was ok and even normal for the student (not a regular student) to not have a work unit. The old man used to teach Japanese at our school, as far as we could tell. He complained about having to keep up with all the new slang. Dr. Xiao came over and sent his hands deep into the man's flesh, which quite surprised me. He also flexed the man's knee and hip joint, bending the leg to the point that it pressed into the man's belly. It caused him a bit of discomfort, but made me feel silly for being so careful at first. Goes to show that I should ask more questions and solicit more feedback. Dr. Xiao also spent a while on the man's foot and ankle using what appeared to be quite strong stimulation. Mostly variations on the rolling technique using different parts of his hand.

A small (5yrs) boy came to treat his poor eyesight. Treatment consisted of full body massage with Dr. Xiao spending quite a bit of time on his face, scalp, neck and shoulders. The boy was quite thin, and his mother was complaining (to another mother) about the amount of time kids spend in front of the TV and computer.

A repeat patient, a "Chansa" man in his 40s with back pain. He mentioned today that when it is severe he cannot move. He does not have pain in his buttocks or upper thigh, just lumbar region, both sides. I found a sensative region above his left knee to the inside, interesting pattern. I think he said his left heel was also painful. Three of us worked him over, doing a good job of it, and I spent some time pressing deep into his lumbar muscles when he was on his side. Elicited a good response from him. He seemed quite happy to know that those painful areas were 穴位.

Dat's all folks!

Let's see...

Little boy who has been coming since he was 1 (estimate 3 years old). His right side is (was?) paralyzed. His folks have spent ~80.000rmb for massage and acupuncture. He looks completely normal, like an excited little boy full of energy. He gets a full body massage (mostly rolling and lifting manipulations), gets hung upside down, and does a bit of physical therapy on the weak side (one arm supported push-ups, one-leg supported crouching...)

Old man (80+) who has very swollen knee joints. Not edema, but rather the bones themselves are very large. Limited motion and aching. He gets a full body massage, then sits and gets shoulder/neck massage.

Man in his 40's, originally said back pain, later refined it to neck and upper back pain that makes sleeping difficult. (Dr. Xiao asked him to simply state where the pain was, rather then trying to say what kind of problem he had). Full body massage. He sighed deeply many times during the session.

Elderly (55+) lady with the fractured R. knee, only using one crutch now, quite an improvement. No swelling in L. foot, a little swelling still in R. foot. Full body massage. She comes everyday, used to work for the University.

Elderly man recovering from a stroke. Almost insensible, came directly from the inpatient dept. Came in a wheelchair, left walking. IV tip in R. forearm. Slightly reddened eyes. Very thin and stiff. Full body massage then arm and leg manipulation by Dr. Xiao. Left to go to the toilet half way through. Accompanied by his daughter + son-in-law (both 50/60 years old).

Businessman in 40s, stock broker. Lower back pain around lumbar spine. Full body massage focusing on back/buttocks.

That is all I can remember.

Dr. Chen of the pain-management clinic extolled me to keep careful notes, will start doing so next week.

Tuina dept, sat June 2nd

Woman, 30s, appeared in good health and weight, lumbar pain (present) zuogu shenjing tong (occasional) to the point that walking is painful.

Long session (slow day!), face, limbs, back all massaged heavily. Seemed quite comfortable when finished.