MAXINE GORDON finds out whether the Chinese massage used to fix Jamaican Olympian Yohan Blake can cure her back pain.

TAKING my hot water bottle on a date was the final sign that I needed to do something about the pain in my lower back and left hip.

I'd bought the hottie the previous lunchtime after spending yet another uncomfortable morning deskbound in the office. Red hot and jammed up next to my problem areas, it took the edge off the discomfort.

But it wasn't a cure.

Which was why I took up the offer of a course of Tuina at the Touch Tuina Centre in York, run by Errol Lynch, the UK's leading expert in this ancient form of Chinese massage.

Errol, who also has a clinic in London, has been working with the Jamaican sprinting team and is credited with getting the world's second fastest man Yohan Blake back in form.

I'm no athlete, but I play tennis two to three times a week and take a regular Pilates class. I was willing to give Tuina a try.

Tuina (pronounced twee-na) has been practised in China for about 4,000 years, but is still a relatively new complementary therapy here. It is a deep massage designed to work on the muscles and boost circulation.

It uses the ancient Chinese medical theory of the flow of qi (chi) – or energy – through the meridians in the body. It encompasses heat too, through heat lamps and an infra-red sauna set at about 42C, to aid recovery.

Perhaps best of all, the treatment is done with your clothes on (yes, even in the sauna) - perfect if time is tight or you are a bit shy! The clinic is set up in the Chinese style - open plan with beds several feet apart. Be warned: everyone can here your yelps!

Session one Errol and his colleagues begin prodding my back and then move on to my legs. As they pinch down the outside of my left thigh I squeal out in pain. The minute Errol lifts his hands off, the pain goes. "Your main problem is in here and in your back," he says, blaming it on bad posture.

Throughout the hour session, no-one massages the bits that actually hurt - they just find other parts of my body that are tender, that I didn't even realise needed attention.

Errol explained that the root of a problem is often somewhere other than in the source of pain.

Half way through, he tells me to raise my arms then "lifts them sharply," I feel a sudden crack in my back. "You need a couple more of those," he says before popping me in the infra-red sauna (which they nickname the "oven") for seven minutes, to warm up my body further.

The massage continues and Errol tells me to keep playing tennis and stay active and see how my body feels. He warns me I might feel a bit sore the next day or two from the massage, but that it is good, a sign the muscles are breaking down and the blood is flowing to them better.

Session two I did feel a bit achy after the first treatment: in the middle of my back and down my left leg, but my hip and back ache are lots better.

Today, Errol and his colleague work on other parts of my body - and everywhere they touch seems to hurt. Am I falling apart?

Errol likens fixing the body to throwing down a pack of ten cards and picking them all up one by one, until one is left, and that's the last thing you have to fix.

Session three Had some back and hip pain again, so Errol got straight to work, massaging my inner thighs (hamstrings), middle of my back and my neck and shoulders. He tells me my back is taking the hit for the tensions in these areas. It all felt very tender and I had to take deep breaths and yell a fair bit.

He placed the heat lamp over my thighs to warm the muscles and then I sat in the "oven" for ten minutes, before resuming.

This time, the massage felt more gentle even though he was pressing harder, the heat having warmed up the muscles and allowing Errol to work deeper. As I went to bed that night my back and hip felt normal. Is this a false dawn or the start of a recovery?

Session four I am delighted to report my back and hip pain are gone. It feels like magic and a huge relief. I have a new problem, however, a pain in my thumb joint that I think might be linked to computer work (that darned mouse) and tennis.

Errol's colleague Sylvain Lannes took me in hand, excuse the pun, and traced the problem to tightness in my neck and shoulder. Again, he found areas I didn't even realise were tender until he pressed them. Despite the twinges of discomfort, the end result is deeply satisfying.

Sitting in the "oven" midway through the session, I let the heat seap into my body, start to relax and think the Touch Tuina Centre is now one of my favourite places in York.

Verdict: Errol reckoned it would take four sessions to sort out my back pain, and he nailed it in three. I can't thank him and his team enough. It meant my week's holiday in Paris, visiting art galleries, shopping, and visiting Disneyland (all those queues) were pain free - and a great test for my once dodgy back.

They say there is no gain without pain and in the case of Touch Tuina that is certainly true. The Chinese call it "happy pain". I couldn't put it better myself.

* There are two Touch Tuina Treatment Centres in York: St Saviour’s Place, off Stonebow, and at the Northern School of Acupuncture, Micklegate. Find out more at: tuinauk.com. Sessions cost £30 for 30 minutes or £45 for an hour.