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Thai Massage Therapy
The second, and most internationally famous type of Thai medical
therapy is ráksãa thaang nûat (massage treatment).
The extensive and highly refined Thai massage system combines
characteristics of massage (stroking and kneading the muscles),
chiropractic (manipulating skeletal parts) and acupressure |
Related
Links
Thai Medical Practices
Thai Herbal Medicines
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(applying deep, consistent pressure
to specific nerves, tendons, or ligaments) in order to balance
the functions of the four body elements (thâat
tháng sìi).
These four elements are:
earth (din-solid parts of the
body, including nerves, skeleton, muscles, blood vessels, tendons
and ligaments); Water (náam-blood
and bodily secretions); fire (fai-digestion
and metabolism); and air (lom-respiration,
and circulation). |
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Borrowing from India's
Ayurvedic tradition, some practitioners employ Pali-Sanskrit
terms for the four bodily elements: pathavidhatu, apodhatu,
tecodhatu and vayodhatu.
From the Ayuthaya period until early this century, the Thai
government's Department of Health included an official massage
division (phanâek mãw nûat). Under the influence of international
medicine and modern hospital development responsibility for the
national propagation/maintenance of Thai massage was eventually
transferred to Wat Phra Jetuphon (Wat Pho) in Bangkok, where it
remains today. Traditional massage therapy has persisted most in the
provinces however and has recently enjoyed a resurgence of
popularity throughout the country.
Within the traditional Thai medical context, a massage therapist (mãw
nûat, literally, 'massage doctor') usually applies Thai massage
together with pharmacological and/or
psycho-spiritual
treatments as prescribed for a specific medical problem. Nowadays
many Thais also use massage as a tool for relaxation and disease
prevention, rather than for a specific medical problem.
Massage, associated with Bangkok's Turkish baths (àap òp nûat, or
'bathe-steam-massage' in Thai) is for the most part performed for
recreational or entertainment purposes only (or as an adjunct to
prostitution); the techniques used are loosely based on traditional
Thai massage.
For problems affecting the nerves rather than the muscular or
skeletal structures, many Thais resort to nûat jàp sên (nerve-touch
massage), a Chinese-style massage technique that works with the
body's nerve meridians much like acupuncture.
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