Gua Sha is a natural Chinese alternative therapy that involves scraping your skin with a massage tool to improve your circulation. This action causes light bruising, which often appears as purple or red spots known as sha.
In Gua Sha, a technician scrapes your skin with short or long strokes to stimulate microcirculation of the soft tissue, which increases blood flow. They make these strokes with a smooth-edged instrument known as a Gua massage tool. The technician applies massage oil to your skin, and then uses the tool to repeatedly scrape your skin in a downward motion.
Gua sha is generally performed on a person’s back, buttocks, neck, arms, and legs. Your technician may apply mild pressure, and gradually increase intensity to determine how much force you can handle.
What are the benefits of Gua Sha?
Gua sha is intended to address stagnant energy in the body that practitioners believe may be responsible for inflammation. Inflammation is the underlying cause of several conditions associated with chronic pain. Rubbing the skin’s surface is thought to help break up this energy, reduce inflammation, and promote healing.
What conditions can Gua Sha treat?
Gua Sha may reduce inflammation, so it’s often used to treat ailments that cause chronic pain, such as arthritis and fibromyalgia, as well as those that trigger muscle and joint pain.
Gua Sha is most often used to relieve muscle and joint pain. Conditions of the muscles and bones are known as musculoskeletal disorders. Some examples include back pain, tendon strain, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Small injuries to the body, such as the bruises caused by Gua Sha, are sometimes known as microtrauma. These create a response in the body that may help to break up scar tissue. Microtrauma may also help with fibrosis, which is a build-up of too much connective tissue when the body heals.