Gua Sha

Gua sha is an essential hands-on medical treatment used throughout Asia for centuries. Sometimes called ‘coining, spooning, or scraping,’ Gua sha is defined as instrument-assisted unidirectional press-stroking of a lubricated area of the body surface to create transitory therapeutic petechiae intentionally called ‘sha’ representing extravasation of blood in the subcutis.

Modern research shows that Gua sha produces an anti-inflammatory and immune protective effect that persists for days following a single Gua sha treatment. This accounts for its impact on pain, stiffness, fever, chill, cough, wheezing, nausea, vomiting, etc., and why Gua sha is effective in acute and chronic internal organ disorders, including liver inflammation in hepatitis.

Gua means ‘to rub’ or ‘press stroke. Sha is a term that describes the blood congestion in surface tissue in areas where the patient may experience stiffness and pain; Sha is also the term for the little red dots that form from applying Gua sha. When Gua press-stroking is applied in repeated even strokes, Sha appears as small red dots called ‘petechiae,’ and the pain immediately shifts. In minutes, the tiny red dots fade into blended reddishness. The sha disappears totally in two to three days after treatment. The color of sha and fading rate can indicate significant information about a patient’s condition. Pain relief lasts even after the show is completely gone.

The benefits of Gua sha are numerous. It resolves spasms and pain and promotes normal circulation to the muscles, tissues, and organs, as seen in Gua sha’s immediate effect on coughing and wheezing. Research has shown that Gua sha causes a four-fold increase in microcirculation of surface tissue (Nielsen et al. 2007) and can reduce inflammation and stimulate the immune system (Braun et al. 2011; Chan et al. 2011). Gua sha up-regulates heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which acts to reduce internal organ inflammation, for example, in cases of asthma, hepatitis, and liver disease. The patient experiences immediate changes in stiffness and pain with increased mobility. Because Gua sha mimics sweating, it can help to resolve fever. Gua sha cools the patient who feels too warm, warms the patient who feels too cold while relaxing tension and reducing anxiety. Acupuncturists and practitioners of traditional East Asian medicine consider Gua sha for any illness or condition with pain or discomfort, upper respiratory and digestive problems, and any condition where touch palpation indicates there is sha. Gua sha is often combined with acupuncture for issues that acupuncture alone cannot address.

After treatment, the patient is advised to keep the area protected from wind, cold, and direct sun until the sha fades. They are also encouraged to drink plenty of water and eat moderately.