Tui Na Massage in Saffron Walden
Chinese therapeutic massage combining pressure, stretching, and manipulation techniques. Integrated into your treatment for enhanced results.
Tui Na — the therapeutic massage arm of Chinese medicine — combines deep-tissue manipulation, acupressure, and joint mobilisation to treat musculoskeletal pain and energy stagnation. In her Cambridge and Saffron Walden clinics, Amanda Ody MBAcC MRCHM uses Tui Na for frozen shoulder, chronic back pain, postural stiffness, and post-injury mobility work — combining it with acupuncture and cupping within a single session when your presentation calls for it. Tui Na is included within your acupuncture appointment at no additional cost when clinically indicated. Amanda trained in Tui Na as part of her accredited three-year Chinese medicine programme and has applied it in clinical practice for over twenty-five years — it is not an add-on learnt from a weekend course but a core component of her therapeutic toolkit, integrated with Chinese medicine diagnosis.
Benefits of Tui Na
Deep Tissue Work
Reaches deep muscles and fascia for lasting relief.
Stimulates Qi Flow
Works along meridians to restore energy balance.
Promotes Relaxation
Calms the nervous system and reduces stress.
Tui Na in Cambridge Practice
How Amanda integrates Tui Na with acupuncture and cupping across twenty-five years of clinical experience.
Musculoskeletal Focus
Tui Na is Amanda's primary manual therapy for musculoskeletal complaints — stiff neck, frozen shoulder, lower-back tension, sciatica, and post-injury joint stiffness. Unlike Swedish massage, which follows a set sequence of strokes, Tui Na is diagnosis-led: Amanda palpates the affected area, identifies the Chinese medicine pattern (Qi stagnation, Blood stasis, Cold-Damp invasion), and selects techniques — rolling (gun fa), kneading (rou fa), and acupressure (an fa) — specific to that pattern and tissue state. A Tui Na session for frozen shoulder looks completely different from one for lumbar strain because the underlying pathology is different.
Needle-Free Option
Tui Na is particularly valuable for patients who are curious about Chinese medicine but nervous about needles. It uses the same diagnostic framework (pulse, tongue, meridian palpation) and targets the same acupuncture points — but through finger pressure, joint mobilisation, and soft-tissue manipulation rather than needling. For children, patients with needle phobia, and those on anticoagulant medication where needling requires extra caution, Tui Na provides the diagnostic depth of Chinese medicine without the barrier of needle insertion. Amanda often starts needle-hesitant patients with Tui Na and transitions to acupuncture gradually as comfort develops.
Conditions Treated
Massage is included with your acupuncture treatment at no extra charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Tui Na massage.
Tui Na is the manual therapy branch of Chinese medicine — literally "push-grasp". It combines deep-tissue, acupressure, myofascial and joint-mobilisation techniques along the same meridians an acupuncturist uses. Amanda tailors each session to your presentation.
Tui Na targets meridians and specific acupuncture points, not just muscle groups. The clinical goal is to move qi and blood along pathological patterns identified by Chinese diagnosis — so it's closer to an acupuncture session without needles than to a relaxation massage.
Tui Na is particularly good for musculoskeletal complaints — stiff neck, frozen shoulder, low back tension, sciatica. It's also a useful option for patients nervous about needles but who want the diagnostic depth of Chinese medicine. Amanda often combines Tui Na with cupping in the same appointment.
Yes, with the right practitioner. Amanda is trained in pregnancy-safe Tui Na — avoiding contraindicated points and adjusting pressure for later trimesters. It's particularly helpful for pelvic pain, upper-back tension from feeding positions, and rib cage discomfort.