Getting to Know the Effect Theory of Traditional Pediatric Tuina in the View of Modern Medicine in Three Minor Perspectives

Pediatric tuina is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) modality that is well-accepted and applied in China currently. As a traditional medicine, it is based on TCM theories and clinical experience. In the TCM area, the “self-healing” system of the human body includes two aspects: self-regulation and adaptation, through which pediatric tuina could rectify dysfunctional states and guide the transition back to homeostasis. Pediatric tuina manipulations sufficiently, specifically, and accurately simulate certain sensory receptors in the skin, which in turn activates the internal self-healing function of the human body. We summarized the main opinions on pediatric tuina mechanism in ancient literature into three minor perspectives and demonstrated them by combining them with modern medical knowledge. First, children at a young age are more responsive to stimulations on the skin surface; second, the sensory receptors and pediatric tuina acupoints on the skin surface have a similar distribution pattern; third, the specific manipulations of pediatric tuina provide multiple stimuli that are detected by a variety of surface sensory receptors for information collection. Each point could be tested via clinical trials with appropriate-designed comparisons.