Acupuncture has been around for over 2,000 years. As such, acupuncture schools will often teach the mechanisms behind acupuncture's effectiveness from a Traditional Chinese Medical point of view. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), health is determined by the proper flow of qi or non-physical life force in the body. Illness arises when the body’s qi is stopped from performing its cardinal functions, which includes the nutrient conversion, temperature regulation, and defense against foreign pathogens. … Read More

What is Tuina? What can it treat? | AMC Acupuncture School Blog | Miami, FL In the last article, we discussed that tuina was a form of Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT) that originated in China several thousand years ago and is the oldest codified system of medicine in the world. Like the other Traditional Chinese Medicine modalities, it utilizes a TCM view of the body and uses an acupoint model to locate the points of healing. However, unlike acupuncture and Shiatsu, Tuina includes a variety of techniques that are similar to the ones found in Swedish Massage, including rolling, kneading, and pinching. Tuina plays an important role as part of our acupuncture school program and while tuina sounds great in theory, is there any evidence that it is an effective treatment? In this article, we will evaluate tuina as medical treatment in a clinical setting. … Read More

What are the benefits of Acupressure? | AMC Massage School Blog | Miami, FL Recently, we discussed the meridian system in Traditional Chinese Medicine and how Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT) utilizes these principles for healing. Like acupuncture, acupressure stimulates the flow of qi by applying manual stimulation at the acupoints. However, rather than inserting needles, acupressure uses pressure to massage the acupoints. Because it is non-invasive, acupressure can potentially be used as a low-risk complementary treatment for medical issues where traditional acupuncture has already proven to be effective. … Read More

Massage Therapy is a holistic health practice that involves the manual manipulation of the body’s musculoskeletal tissues. While massage treatments have long been a part of medical history, some of the most popular modalities or styles were not invented until fairly recently. For example, the most popular modality, Swedish Massage, was invented around 1870 by Johann George Mezger, who codified the modality into the five techniques that are still used today. The five techniques of Swedish Massage, are: … Read More

Going Dutch: The Story behind Swedish Massage's Confusing Name | AMC Miami Massage Therapy School Recently, we did an extensive post on the History of Massage Therapy. In it, we covered many of the significant massage modalities that have contributed to our modern understanding of Massage Therapy as a holistic medical practice. These massage modalities can be roughly be divided into two major categories: Eastern and Western. … Read More

Massage: The Oldest Medical Practice | AMC-Miami Massage Therapy School Massage Therapy is one of the most commonly practiced forms of holistic medicine.  Massage Therapists heal patients by using their touch to manipulate the muscles and other soft tissues of the body. This therapeutic touch is used to relieve pain, help heal injuries, improve circulation, relieve stress, increase relaxation, and aid with general health and wellness.  According to the most recent data published by the National Center for Health Statistics (CDC-NCHS), approximately 7% of the US adult population received a massage treatment in 2012. That’s approximately 15.4 million people! And it only appears to be growing in popularity. As a profession (in the US), Massage Therapy jobs are predicted to increase by 24 percent between 2016 and 2026. While the numbers are impressive, it should not be particularly surprising that massage therapy is a popular practice.  Massage Therapy has many health benefits, including improved sleep quality, enhanced relaxation, pain relief, decreased stress and inflammation, decreased blood pressure, improvements in injuries and sports injuries, as well as improved mental health. … Read More

Yin-Yang in Traditional Chinese Medicine | AMC Acupuncture School Blog | Miami, Florida Just like rationalism forms the basis for Western medicine, the Taoist philosophy of yin-yang forms the basis for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). While many people have heard the term yin-yang or know it's famous symbol, few understand what yin-yang truly is, and even fewer people outside of an acupuncture school know how it relates to Traditional Chinese Medicine. The typical yin-yang sign shows the interconnected duality of opposite forces. In Chinese philosophy, Yin-yang, which translates into “dark-bright,” describes the notion that everything in nature consists of two paradoxical phases or energies.  … Read More

The Human Body in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) In the first article of the series, we discussed how Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was a form of holistic medicine, since it focused on healing the physical and non-physical aspects of the human condition. In the second article, we discussed how the different doctrines of Taoism set the intellectual foundation for TCM. In this article, we will discuss how these ideas form the TCM view of the human body, which is taught alongside Western anatomy at our acupuncture school in Florida. … Read More