Gua Sha
Gua Sha is a healing technique used in Asia by practitioners of Traditional Medicine, in both the clinical setting and in homes, but little known in the West. It involves rubbing the skin with a round-edged instrument like you see above, other interments that are commonly use are coins and Chinese soup spoons, and this is where the term spoon came from; that results gua sha in the appearance of small red petechiae called 'sha', that fades in 2 to 3 days You may also have the appearance of dark line. When I did my training sha was referred to as toxic heat. Raising Sha removes blood stagnation which is considered pathogenic, promoting normal circulation and metabolic processes. The patient experiences immediate relief from pain, stiffness, fever, chill, cough, nausea, and so on. Gua Sha is valuable in the prevention and treatment of acute infectious illness, upper respiratory and digestive problems, and many other acute or chronic disorders.
In most cases the patient feels an immediate shift in their condition particularly in their pain or sense of constraint. Gua Sha moves stuck Qi and Blood, releases the exterior mimicking sweating, and moves Fluids. In a modern medical construct these fluids contain metabolic waste that congested the surface tissues and muscles. Gua Sha promotes circulation and normalizes metabolic processes. It is a valuable treatment for both external and internal pain, and facilitates the resolution of both acute and chronic disorders.
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 dyspnea: bronchitis, asthma, emphysema.
- Treat muscle and tendon injuries.
- Push sluggish circulation, fibro myalgia.
- Treat headache.
- Treat sunstrokes / heat syncope and nausea.
- Treat stiffness, pain, immobility.
- Treat digestive disorders.
- Treat urinary, gynaecological disorders.
- To assist with reactions to food poisoning.
With gua sha I've used it myself with headaches, the ones that have a lot of heat associated with them, with in 15 minutes the headache was gone. I remember the first time I had done this I could feel the heat actually coming from my body after the washer had been done.
The first time I treated my wife with gua sha for a lower back problem it was incredible the amount of heat coming from her you could literally cook bacon on her back, that's how much heat she had. But the relief that she got was incredible and she was converted to this treatment.
Like cupping, gua sha does leave some is uncially marks on you body, but the health benefits outweigh the aesthetic look.
If the practitioner has over done it the areas may feel tender like a bruise if you feel tender as the treatment is being done signify to the practitioner so he can stop. If the practitioner is not an acupuncturist make sure that he has been trained in this type of treatment before let them proceed.
This treatment like cupping is not recommended people who bruise easily all that haemophiliacs
:)