Gua Sha

Monday, May 19, 2008


Gua sha

Gua sha is the chinese name for a treatment otherwise known as dermabrasion, scraping, or strigilation. Gua Sha is the name it's most commonly called by in the complemetary medicine sphere these days, so it's what I'll call it for this blog. What it consists of is scraping the skin with some sort of instrument, for the purpose of increasing circulation and nerve sensitivity in the area. Where moxa is heating, and cupping removes heat, gua sha is neutral.

Usuallly, oil of some sort is applied to the area to be treated. This will generally be some sort of medicated liniment, infused with medicinal herbs, that will work on the problem that needs to be addressed. Then the area is rubbed back and forth with the gua sha implement. This can be almost anything that is smooth, rigid, and will scrape the skin without cutting it. Special gua sha implements are sometimes made of metal or horn. Old coins are traditionally used in folk medicine as gua sha implements, but circulated coins would be too dirty by modern standards. I use a jade spoon, which is also traditional.

After a few minutes of being rubbed this way, an area will turn a bright red color. There should not be any sort of bruise like there is with cupping, and the procedure should be just about painless.

This treatment is useful when someone has a part of their body that they can't feel very well, such as numb hands or feet. It can also be useful in cases of chronic pain, by "distracting" the nervous system from the area that is truly painful, and making it feel the gua sha instead. This is especially useful in back or joint pain, Chronic muscle pain (such as the sort associated with fibromyalgia), and nerve pain (like the kind people get after they've had shingles).