Among the many external treatment methods of traditional Chinese medicine, gua sha is a traditional Chinese medicine method that promotes blood circulation, relieves pain, and regulates immunity by stimulating the skin and meridians. Its core is to scrape specific parts with the help of tools, causing local congestion or shaving, so as to adjust the physical state, and is often used to improve sub-health, muscle soreness and other problems. Gua Sha is a method guided by the theory of traditional Chinese medicine meridians and acupoints, through special scraping instruments (such as buffalo horns, jade, etc.) and corresponding techniques, repeatedly scraping and rubbing on the body surface, so that the skin appears locally in the form of red millets, or dark red bleeding points and other “sha” changes, so as to achieve the purpose of activating blood circulation and preventing and treating diseases.

Operation process:

· Apply Medium: Apply lubricant evenly to the area to be scraped.

· Master the angle and strength: The Gua Sha board is at an angle of 45°-90° to the skin, with wrist strength as the core, and the strength is from light to heavy, according to the user’s ability to bear.

· Scraping along the scriptures: usually follow the one-way principle of “top-down, inside-out” to avoid scraping back and forth. The back and neck are often scraped along the bladder on both sides of the spine.

· Pay attention to the reaction: During the scraping process, ask the user how they feel at any time.

The principle of gua sha:

1. Regulate blood and qi, dredge meridians: Traditional Chinese medicine believes that “if it doesn’t work, it hurts, and if it hurts, it doesn’t work”. When the meridian qi and blood do not run smoothly and are blocked in the body, pain and disease will occur. The stimulation of scraping can dredge the meridians, regulate qi and blood, and excrete the blocked “sha poison” from the body.

2. Dispelling evil and detoxifying, activating blood circulation and dissolving blood stasis: What exactly is “Sha”? It is considered to be the external manifestation of “sickness” and “toxin” accumulated on the body surface, meridians and even internal organs. The scraping process forces these diseases to be expelled, while promoting local blood circulation and resolving blood stasis.

3. Adjust yin and yang, support righteousness and dispel evil: By stimulating specific meridians and acupuncture points, gua sha can regulate the function of internal organs, balance the body’s yin and yang, and stimulate the body’s self-defense and immunity (righteousness), so as to get rid of diseases and evils.

From the perspective of modern medicine, gua sha is a special “mechanical stimulus”. It significantly increases local blood circulation, promotes metabolism, stimulates the immune system, strengthens the body’s defenses, regulates the nervous system, and relieves muscle tension and pain through strong scraping.

Gua Sha indications:

1. Various painful diseases: This is the absolute advantage of gua sha.

· Neck, shoulder, waist and leg pain: such as cervical spondylosis, frozen shoulder, stiff neck, lumbar muscle strain.

· Headache, muscle aches.

· Dysmenorrhea.

2. “Heat and dampness” and cold symptoms:

· Heat stroke (the classic application of gua sha).

· Fever, chills, head and body pain at the beginning of a cold.

3. Respiratory problems:

· Cough, asthma (as adjunctive treatment).

4. Digestive problems:

· Loss of appetite, bloating, constipation.

5. Sub-health conditioning:

· Chronic fatigue, insomnia, neurasthenia.

· Improves facial complexion and is used in beauty and health care.

Notes:

· After the gua sha, gently dry any remaining media and moisture on the skin with a clean paper towel or towel.

· Let the patient drink a glass of warm water to promote metabolism and accelerate the discharge of “sha poison”.

· Avoid taking a bath within 4 hours after scraping, especially cold showers, to prevent the invasion of cold evil.

Absolute contraindications:

· Diseases with bleeding tendency: such as leukemia, thrombocytopenia, etc.

· Severe allergies, breakage, ulceration, inflammation of the skin, or infectious skin diseases (e.g., boils, herpes).

· Those with severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, liver and kidney failure.

· After excessive hunger, satiety, drunkenness and strenuous exercise.

· Relative contraindications and cautionary use groups:

· Pregnant women: It is strictly forbidden to scrape the abdomen and lumbosacral area, and it needs to be done under the guidance of a professional doctor throughout pregnancy.

· The elderly and frail, those who have just recovered from serious illnesses: the technique should be light, and the selection of acupuncture points should be less.

· People on an empty stomach or overly tired: need to rest before doing it to prevent dizziness (dizziness, paleness, cold sweat, etc., should be stopped immediately, lie down and rest, and drink warm sugar water).

Gua Sha, this ancient technique, is like a scavenger that awakens our inner self-healing potential through the dialogue of the epidermis. However, it is important to remember that seeking diagnosis and operation from professional professionals is a safe and effective prerequisite.