Tuina is a hands-on therapy used within TCM. Techniques may include pressing, rolling, kneading and mobilising. It is not simply a relaxation massage: the choice and intensity of techniques should be adapted to the person, their comfort and the practitioner’s assessment.

What to know before your visit

Tell the practitioner where you feel pain, numbness or recent injury.
Mention osteoporosis, recent surgery, fractures, pregnancy or skin problems.
Speak up if pressure feels uncomfortable or too strong.
For sudden severe pain, weakness, chest pain or neurological symptoms, seek urgent conventional medical care.

Care and suitability

TCM services are not one-size-fits-all. The practitioner may recommend a different approach, a combination of approaches, or conventional medical review depending on the information discussed and any safety concerns.

Urgent symptoms

For severe, sudden or rapidly worsening symptoms, chest pain, difficulty breathing, fainting, major bleeding, stroke-like symptoms or other emergencies, call 995 or seek urgent conventional medical care.

Understand more

Clearer explanations for better decisions.

Tuina is not simply a relaxation massage

Tuina is a hands-on therapy used within TCM. Techniques may include pressing, rolling, kneading, mobilising and other manual methods selected according to the practitioner’s assessment. The session can feel quite different from a spa massage because the purpose and technique are different.

Tell us what your body is telling you

Pressure should be tolerable. Inform the practitioner about recent injuries, fractures, osteoporosis, surgery, pregnancy, blood-thinning medicines, numbness or neurological symptoms. Severe pain is not a badge of effectiveness; treatment should be adjusted if something feels wrong.

When hands-on therapy is not the first step

New weakness, loss of bladder or bowel control, major trauma, suspected fracture, fever with severe pain or rapidly worsening neurological symptoms need medical assessment. A responsible manual therapy plan starts by recognising when hands-on treatment should wait.

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Need the terminology or practical answers?

Use the glossary and common-questions page to understand what traditional terms mean, what they do not mean, and how TCM fits into Singapore healthcare.

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