A few years ago, a friend of children with inguinal hernia, this is a congenital disease, stomach a pipeline to the scrotum is not closed, intestines run along the pipeline to the groin, or in the scrotum, mainly by surgery to cure the gap to fill. 

 

 

但孩子妈妈认为手术太伤身体不肯手术,而且她很信中医，所以带孩子去吃了几个月的中药，同时给孩子做推拿按摩，一次好几百块，做了整整半年，没有任何改善，最后无奈还是来做了手术。

But mother think too hurts the body would not surgery, and she is very believe in traditional Chinese medicine, and took the child to eat several months of traditional Chinese medicine, give the child do massage at the same time, hundreds of pieces at a time, do a full half an year, without any improvement, but ultimately to do the surgery. 

 

 

这个事我当时听了挺气愤，但想着可能他家经济条件好，没把这点钱当回事，所以才会去做这样的治疗。后来陆续有人问我“小儿推拿”的事，说现在特别红火，我去了解了一下，才明白他们上这样的当不是没有原因，因为“小儿推拿”确实很风靡。

I was very angry at that time, but I was thinking that maybe his family's economy was better, and I didn't take this money seriously, so I would do it. Then have someone asked me "infantile massage", said special prosperous now, on to understand, I just understand them to be taken in such is not without reason, because "infantile massage" is very popular. 

 

 

无论是报刊书籍还是网络上，关于小儿推拿的宣传都很多，大多宣称简便易学，功效神奇，不用打针吃药，捏捏按按就可治百病，从便秘到腹泻，从发热到咳嗽到腹痛、哮喘、遗尿、厌食、消化不良等，无所不治，无所不能，而且没有副作用，这样的宣传对家长确实很有杀伤力。

Both newspapers and books and the Internet, on infantile tuina propaganda are many, most of the claims is simple to learn, and efficacy, need not take medicine give or take an injection, squeezing the pressing can cure all ills, from constipation and diarrhea, fever to cough to abdominal pain, asthma, enuresis, anorexia, indigestion and so on, everything, omnipotent, and no side effects, such propaganda for parents really lethal. 

 

 

小儿推拿真的有这么神奇吗？

Is there really such a magic in children's massage? 

 

 

小儿推拿是以经络穴位这些中医理论为基础的中医治疗，稍有科学意识的人自然知道经络穴位这些理论本不值一驳。我们外科医生做手术切开从来都是以解剖学为基础，而不会考虑什么经络穴位，也没听说哪个病人穴位经络被破坏了恢复不好。

The children's massage is based on the TCM theory of meridian acupoints, and some people with a little scientific consciousness know that the theory of meridian acupoints is not worth refuting. Our surgeon's surgery was always based on anatomy, not to think about meridian points, or to know which patient's meridians were damaged. 

 

 

要是真有穴位和经络，而且通过捏捏按按就能通畅经络疏通气血治好病，那么多毫无医学基础的人照着书在家乱捏一气，就不怕弄出经络不通气血瘀滞吗？

If true have acupuncture and meridian, and pressing by pinching the can open meridians unclog blood cure disease, so many people there is no medical basis according to the book at home disorderly fashion, is not afraid to make a meridian impassability blood stasis? 

 

 

对于一些神经、肌肉、骨骼方面的问题，比如儿童肌性斜颈，手法牵引这些物理治疗是可能改善或者治愈的，但需要在专业的康复医生指导下进行，也不是按什么经络穴位进行，康复物理治疗和那些推捏经络穴位的中医推拿是两回事。

For some nerve, muscle and bone problems, such as children's muscular torticollis, technique of drawing it is possible to improve the physical therapy or cure, but need to be under the guidance of professional rehabilitation doctor, also is not according to what meridian acupoints, rehabilitation physical therapy and push the kneading massage of TCM on the meridian entry points are two different things. 

 

 

但肯定很多人要说谁谁谁就是推拿治好了，这又怎么解释呢？

But it's certainly a lot of people to say who's been cured, and how to explain that? 

 

 

其实很多问题本来就是能自愈的，比如呼吸道病毒感染引起的发烧，很多烧两三天自己也会好，轮状病毒引起的腹泻，拉个一星期大部分也会好，感冒引起的咳嗽持续一两周大部分也可以好，如果在这个过程中孩子去做了小儿推拿，很多家长就会觉得是推拿起效了。

In fact a lot of problems which is able to heal itself, such as respiratory tract infection caused by a fever, a lot of burn for two or three days will be good, caused by rotavirus diarrhea, pull one most a week will be good, cause a cold cough for a week or two most can also be good, if the children in the process to do pediatric massage, many parents will think it is the massage effect. 

 

 

比如微博上看到这个例子，20来天麦粒肿自己破了然后好了一点不奇怪，但奇怪的是这个这个家长认为是推拿推好了，更奇怪的是这个推拿“老师”居然还转发这个例子去彰显这个方法的神奇。

See this example such as weibo, 20 days sty oneself is broken and then better not strange, but the odd thing is that the parents think is push massage well, more strange is the massage "teacher" is also forwarded this example to show the magic of this method. 

 

 

 

疾病有千百种，同一种病，症状很可能不一样，同一种症状，背后的病因也很可能不一样。没有医学基础，连疾病和症状都分不清楚，就指望用一种方法来包治百病，肯定是骗人的。

There are hundreds of diseases, the same disease, the symptoms are very likely different, the same symptom, the underlying cause is also very likely different. Without the medical basis, the disease and the symptoms are not clear, and the hope of a way to cure the disease is a lie. 

 

 

推拿按摩对成人来说，主要功能是娱乐放松，但可能因为儿童自愈性疾病多见，小儿推拿就被包装成了一种神奇疗法。很多人宣称小儿推拿一学就会，一推就好，没有任何门槛，双上肢健全的人就可以做，要是治病这么简单，医院都可以关门歇业了。

Massage for adults, the main function is recreational relaxation, but may be due to children's self-healing diseases, children's massage is packaged into a magic treatment. A lot of people claim that the child can be pushed to learn, push is good, without any threshold, the able-bodied people can do, if cure is so simple, the hospital can shut down the business. 

 

 

很多家长可能觉得反正推拿按摩即便没用也没什么坏处，试试又何妨？

Many parents may feel that it's not bad to massage even if it doesn't work. Why not? 

 

 

父母如果自己给健康的孩子做做抚触，可以增加亲子感情，确实不是坏事，但就怕孩子有病的时候很多人真期望通过这种方法去治好病而延误正规治疗，而且有些中医、“老师”也就是这样宣传的，比如下面这个在微博上转发上万次的治便秘方法。

To health of the parents if their children do touch, and can increase the parent-child relationship, really not bad, but he was afraid the child sick a lot of people really hope through this method to cure disease and delay the regular treatment, and some traditional Chinese medicine, "teacher" and so it was with publicity, such as the following on twitter forwarded to treat constipation method of tens of thousands of times. 

 

 

 

事实上便秘的原因也有很多，功能性便秘通过腹部按摩，不管什么穴位经络，单纯按摩腹部挤压肠管或许能改善一点症状，但对于那些病理性问题引起的便秘，比如甲状腺功能低下，先天性巨结肠引起的便秘，一味去推拿只会耽误治疗。

In fact the cause of constipation also has a lot of, functional constipation by abdominal massage, no matter what acupuncture meridians, pure massage abdomen extrusion insufflate may improve symptoms, but for those pathological problems caused by constipation, such as low thyroid function, congenital megacolon caused by constipation, blindly to the massage will only delay treatment. 

 

再比如咳嗽，感冒引起的咳嗽如果自己能好也罢，如果是那些气管异物引起的咳嗽，你还天天去推拿，就可能误人性命。

For example, cough, a cough caused by a cold, if you can be good, if it is those trachea foreign body cough, you go to massage every day, you may miss a person's life. 

 

 

小儿推拿如果没用，那为什么会这么流行？

If it doesn't work, why is it so popular? 

 

 

治病需要追求收益／风险比最大化，正规的治疗会把疗效和副作用讲得很清楚，有些治疗可能有9分疗效1分副作用，但很多人会因为那1分副作用而放弃那9分疗效。这个时候如果有人说有个方法可能很神奇又没有副作用，自然会有人愿意去试，因为人们对副作用有天然的恐惧。

Cure need to seek to maximize returns/risk ratio, regular treatment can speak very clearly, the curative effect and side effects in some curative effect could be nine points 1 minute, side effects, but many people will give up because that one side effects that nine points. At this point, if someone says there's a way to do it and there's no side effects, there's a natural inclination to try, because there's a natural fear of side effects. 

 

 

很多保健品就是抓住人们这一心理，在监管缺失的情况下，把那些若有若无的功效宣传得神乎其神，然后把一些没用的东西卖得比黄金还贵。小儿推拿的性质也就类似于保健品，再加上历史原因和政策推动，让中医观念深入人心，自然会有很多人去试这种中医治疗。

Many health care products is to catch people a psychological, in the case of lack of regulation, those if have if have no claims acclaimed, then sell the useless things is more precious than gold. The nature of children's massage is similar to that of health care products, and with historical reasons and policies, the concept of traditional Chinese medicine is deeply rooted in the hearts of people, and many people will try this kind of TCM treatment. 

 

 

但其实，采用了宣称没有副作用的推拿治疗，就像生病了不按医生意见吃药却去吃补品，虽然避开了药品的副作用，却也等于放任了疾病的自然发展，等于放弃了治疗，更何况小儿推拿并不是完全没有副作用，做小儿推拿导致孩子骨折[1]，甚至死亡[2]都有过报道。

But in fact, the claim that no side effects of massage therapy, like ill not advice according to the doctor to take medicine to take supplements, while avoiding the side effects of the drug, but also equal to let the nature of the disease development, equal to give up treatment, besides infantile tuina is not totally no side effects, do infantile tuina fractures in children [1], [2] and even death have been reported. 

 

 

去给孩子做推拿的家长，有些也可能不太相信真的有效，但孩子生病了就着急，而我们的正规医疗机构也确实存在一些问题，滥用药现象也确实比较普遍，上医院担心被乱打针吃药，不做点什么又觉得焦虑不安，让孩子去推拿推拿，好歹觉得自己做了点什么，让自己心里舒服一点，大不了就花点冤枉钱呗。

To do massage to the child's parents, some may not believe really effective, but try so hard, the child is sick and our formal medical institutions also exists some problems, drug abuse phenomenon is more common, the hospital have to worry about an injection take medicine in disorder, don't do something and feel anxious, let the child go to massage massage, somehow feel to do something and make himself comfortable, big deal just spend a little money. 

 

 

所以小儿推拿不是给孩子治病，而是家长花冤枉钱去治疗自己的焦虑，碰到可以自愈的病也罢，碰到不能自愈的病，延误了治疗就哭都来不及。

So pediatric massage not treating children, but parents spend money to treat their own anxiety, touch can heal disease, can't heal disease, delayed treatment will cry all too late.