Gua Sha Scraping Technique

History of Gua Sha Gua Sha was used in China as early as two thousand years ago. It was used-- especially in the countryside to help a person with fever, pain, and fatigue. Such a method can help rid the body of some diseases through repeated scraping of the skin. The ancient therapy is simple and believed to be quite effective.

Finding Sha Place several fingers of your hand on an area on the flesh when you feel uncomfortable. Then move your hand away. If the places are still there where your fingers were pressed, there is Sha.

Sha = stagnation/blockage The pressure from your fingers blanches the flesh, that is, displaces blood. If the blanching disappears slowly, it indicates that blood is obstructed or congealed. If a person has a sudden stiff neck, wakes with a body kink or reports pain that comes and goes, think Sha. Chronic pain problems almost always involve Sha.

Gua Sha

Instruments and usage

Preventive/Remedial Treatment Gua Sha (刮痧), literally "to scrape for cholera", sometimes given the descriptive French name "tribo-effleurage" by English speakers,[1] is an ancient medical treatment that is still widely used by practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is used even more widely as a "folk" technique, by Chinese, as a preventive or remedial treatment.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory According to traditional Chinese medicine, diseases are caused when external coldness or negative energy invade the body and block sweat glands. Thus, people will have some physical discomfort such as dizziness, vomiting and achiness.

Treating rheumatism The principle of scrape therapy is similar to that of acupuncture. Gua Sha moves, circulates and releases blood trapped in the peripheral capillaries. Gua Sha releases the exterior Sha syndrome by moving body fluids and blood, stimulate blood flow and help to discharge the coldness and negative energy through the skin.

After Effects The skin will feel warm and the presence of redness is often seen after a Gua Sha treatment. This redness or purplish hue to the skin, is trapped or congealed blood that is not circulating properly in the body. Left untreated, this can create major problem

Fatigue and Sedation Before the process, daub the skin with oil. Then scrape the skin with something that has smooth edges. Gua sha can relieve headaches, ease sinus pain and more.

Principle of “Scrape Therapy” The principle of scrape therapy is similar to that of acupuncture. Gua Sha moves, circulates and releases blood trapped in the peripheral capillaries. Gua Sha releases the exterior Sha syndrome by moving body fluids and blood, stimulate blood flow and help to discharge the coldness and negative energy through the skin.

Cao gio Gua sha is reported almost exclusively in Western literature as 'cao gio'; somewhat equivocally as 'not abuse, pseudo-abuse, or pseudo-battery'. This being a result of East Asian immigrant population's relocation to the West during and after the Vietnam war, and the Western medical community's mixed reaction to that population's use of their traditional medicine.

Kerikan It is also widely used in Indonesia. It is a traditional Javanese technique, known as kerikan (lit., "scraping technique"),[2] and it is very widely used, as a form of "folk" medicine, upon members of individual households.

The "folk" technique In describing the Gua Sha techniques as a form of "folk" medicine, the term "folk" is not being used in any pejorative sense. It is used to emphasize: the extremely widespread domestic use of the technique (thus, used by the "folk") as a method of first-contact intervention, that complex medical diagnosis is not required (and, thus, any decision to use or not use Gua Sha can be reliably made by the "folk"), and the overall safety of the technique (meaning that it is safe for the "folk" to use).

Gua Sha and Cupping Notwithstanding this, the Gua Sha technique is just as important a part of the legitimate practice of the specialist practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine as is the use of cupping and it is a highly reputable technique that is applied just as much by these highly trained experts as it is applied by the "folk" users.

Complex Medical Treatment As with many of the "folk" methods that are used domestically as a form of first intervention, the use of Gua Sha often precludes any need for any more complex medical treatment Because its use means that further medical treatment is unnecessary, the technique, although extremely widespread, is often hidden from view Its role as a very significant and very important part in the overall health care of a community may not be immediately apparent.

Folk Medicine Therefore, in the case of Gua Sha, the term "folk" medicine should not be thought of as separate from the practice of more complex Traditional Chinese Medicine, but far more as an immediate form of domestic "first-aid" intervention that serves to prevent any need for further medical intervention by a medical professional.

Treatment Techniques and Equipment Gua Sha involves repeated pressured strokes over lubricated skin with a smooth edge. Commonly a ceramic Chinese soup spoon was used, or a well worn coin, even honed animal bones, water buffalo horn, or jade. A simple metal cap with a rounded edge is commonly used. In cases of fatigue from heavy work a piece of ginger root soaked in rice wine is sometimes used to rub down the spine from head to tail.

Application The smooth edge is placed against the pre-oiled skin surface, pressed down firmly, and then moved down the muscles -- hence the term "tribo-effleurage" (i.e., friction-stroking) -- or along the pathway of the acupuncture meridians, along the surface of the skin, with each stroke being about 4-6 inches long.

Resolving Sha This causes extravasations of blood from the peripheral capillaries (petechiae) and may result in sub-cutaneous blemishing (ecchymosis), which usually takes 2-4 days to fade. Sha rash does not represent capillary rupture as in bruising, as is evidenced by the immediate fading of petechiae to echymosis, and the rapid resolution of sha as compared to bruising.

Colour of Sha The colour of sha varies according to the severity of the patient's blood stasis -- which may correlate with the nature, severity and type of their disorder --appearing from a dark blue-black to a light pink, but is most often a shade of red. Although the marks on the skin look painful, they are not. Patients typically feel immediate sense of relief and change.

Traditional Usage Practitioners tend to follow the tradition they were taught to obtain sha: typically using either gua sha or fire cupping. The techniques are generally not used together.

Indications In classical Chinese practice, the Gua Sha technique is most commonly used to: Reduce fever (the technique was used to treat cholera). Treat fatigue caused by exposure to heat (often used to treat heat-stroke) or cold. Cough and dyspnoea: bronchitis, asthma, emphysema Treat muscle and tendon injuries. Push sluggish circulation and treat fibromyalgia

Indications...continued Treat headache. Treat stiffness, pain, immobility Treat digestive disorders Treat urinary, gynaecological disorders To assist with reactions to food poisoning.

Ba Sha There is an allied technique, Ba Sha (拔痧), or 'tsien sha' literally "to lift up for cholera", which has a similar application to Gua Sha. It is performed by gripping the skin, lifting and then flicking between the fingers until petechiae appear. It is used more often on the tendons, at the center of the brow, more than over specific acupuncture points.

Cross-cultural confusion with physical abuse A slightly different form of Gua Sha, using the edges of coins, rather than porcelain, is practiced as a "folk medicine" technique, by individuals amongst their own family members In some Chinese traditional cultures, in Vietnam (where the coin scraping is known as "cạo gió", scraping for wind), in Cambodia, and in their immigrant communities abroad.

Allaying Fear Cao Gio was introduced to the USA in 1975, when large numbers of Vietnamese were airlifted from South Vietnam near the end of the military conflict between North and South. Well-meaning practitioners of western medicine are sometimes shocked at the sight of these marks and fear that a child with the marks has been abused. The practice was observed by military physicians who publicized the harmless nature of this practice.

Child Abuse? In 1980, it was found that many Vietnamese still distrusted US medical practitioners in part due to fear of being falsely accused of child abuse. For professionals in this position, it is helpful to be familiar with the appearance of Gua Sha marks and to understand its traditional therapeutic value, and to be able to make the distinction between gua sha marks and signs of abuse. Gua Sha is not known to be harmful. The technique called cupping also leaves distinctive, petechial marks on the skin, but is also harmless

Gua Sha Practitioner

Method Always scrape the skin in the same direction and continue until the skin is red and purple marks appear. The intensity, speed, duration, depth of the action, and the location of scrape, all have direct impact over the curative effects.

Regional Treatment Gua Sha can provide drug-free relief of back, neck, leg, and shoulder pain. Besides curing diseases, scrape therapy may build one's body, prevent diseases and help lose weight. Since the process is painful and the mark won't disappear for a long time, scrape therapy is no longer used in hospitals.

References bloggery.wlu.edu www.minbodysoul.tv www.tsca.edu www.praxisfuertcm.ch www.damo.qigong.net