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Oriental Herbal Plasters And Ointments For Pain Relief

By Ken Cheong

Most of us are acquainted with martial arts based on what we seeon TV and the movies; Jacky Chan, Steven Segal, Jet Li, ChuckNorris, Bruce Lee etc.

Some of the most popular martial arts in practize today includeJudo, Tek Kwan Do, Karate, which have made it to the OlympicGames, Akido, Tai Chi and Qigong, which are not in the OlympicGames as yet. Although some of these martial arts come fromKorea and Japan, the roots of most martial arts can be traced toChina.

It is believed that all martial arts can be traced to theShaolin Temple and the Wudang Hills in China. In reality, theremust be hundreds of different types of martial arts practized inChina, including the more popular BaQuaQuan, TangLangQuan,TaiChi, HouQuan, etc.

Training injuries, bruises and cuts are common during practizesand sparring sessions in martial arts schools. In fact, injuriesare so common that most martial arts teachers also double up asdoctors in treating aches and pains that come from sporting andtraining injuries.

The common ways to treat pain and ache in martial arts schoolsinclude:

Accupuncture

Accupuncture needles are inserted at the right accupoints ormeridians in various part of the human body to relieve pain andtension of the muscle. A trained accupunture practioner isrequired to carry out such treatment.

Tui Na

A

form of Chinese accupressure massage where muscles aches andpain are relieved through massaging the right accupoints andmeridians. This may sometimes be used in conjunction with heatpads.

Herbal Plasters

Almost every martial arts school has their own secret formulafor a herbal plaster. These plasters are mostly herbalconconction and used to treat pain, bruises and aches caused bytraining and actual fights. These herbal plasters are veryeffective and bruises and pain tend to disappear very fast oncethe plasters are applied to the injured area.

Herbal Ointments

Used mostly in conjunction with TuiNa or massage, theseointments are also herbal liquid formulas handed down fromgeneration after generation. They are extremely popular andalmost every martial arts school will have their 'own brand' ofherbal ointment.

Today, accupuncture and TuiNa has made it to mainstream sportsschools and even hospitals in China and also gaining muchprominence and popularity in sports schools and hospitals inAsia and the Western countries.

In fact, accupuncture is used for many forms of treatmentsincluding backaches, kicking cigarette habits, menopause pain,migrane etc

TuiNa has also made it into mainstream life as a form ofrelaxation massage in addition to it's use for treating pain andache.

Many martial arts schools has also tied up with pharmaceuticalcompanies to produce modern versions of their herbal plastersand ointments in hygienic, scientific and environmentallycontrolled factories. These herbal plasters and ointments areproduced in large quantities and has made their way into mostAsian homes and families. Most families will have these plastersand ointments in their cabinets to treat pain ranging fromarthritis, shoulder and neck aches, back pain, ankle pain etc.

Some of these brands are now household brands in Asiansocieties. They are also slowly making their way into Westerncountries.

About the author:Ken Cheong lived, worked and travelled in China for 7 years. Heshares articles of China in his websiteshttp://www.quick-pain-relief.com andhttp://www.chinese-culture.net. Please feel free to distributethis article as long as you mention his websites.