Gua Sha

Two more mysterious words I have not heard of. However Gua Sha is a very good Chinese medical modality. It is simple to and straight forward to see if it is warranted and usually gets fast results. I use it often in my practice when I come up against a stubborn problem or a bad cough. I wrote about gua sha somewhat more extensively back in February of 2007. Here is a shorter version.

What is Gua Sha? Well it is defined by Arya Nielsen the doyenne of Gua Sha in the United States as Gua meaning to rub or friction and Sha meaning the congestion of blood at the surface of the body. When the gua is applied to the sha it allows the sha to surface and be released from the body.

OK so you are now more confused than ever. Sounds like mumbo jumbo to you doesn’t it? So here it is in plain English. Gua Sha like other Chinese medical modalities seeks to balance the qi (energy) by moving qi that is stuck. Any time qi does not move the body is opened up for problems.

What kind of problems can Gua Sha work on? Well, I like to use it for bad coughs that just won’t go away. I also like to use it for tight muscles that are resistant to other techniques.
Gua Sha can be safely and effectively done on children and adults of all ages. Be warned though the immediate surface skin reaction can be quite alarming to view. I can assure you that although it does not look attractive it does not hurt or impinge on any movement.

Inside China, Gua Sha is widely practiced and if not in the cities then in the outlying provinces. Here in the United States it much less known, but a gem of a tool for any acupuncturist to have in his/her “toolbox”. One of my massage teachers once told me, “You will learn about and acquire many techniques which can’t all possibly be used on every patient. You can’t use a hammer for every job, nor a screw driver, nor a saw. You must choose the appropriate tool for the job. When the situation presents itself pick up and use the correct tool for the patient before you.” In my practice, Wholistic Family Healthcare that tool may be acupuncture or massage therapy, or gua sha, or Chinese herbs or cupping or electro-acupuncture.

At Wholistic Family Healthcare, located in Silver Spring, MD nearby to Washington, DC we view each patient as a Whole person and treat the patient with this holistic approach. It is the reason behind our success.

What the Heck is Gua Sha?

I would like to introduce you to a term that many people have never heard of Gua Sha.

What is Gua Sha (pronounced Gua sa)? Well Arya Neilson the premier practitioner of Gua Sha in the U.S. explains it thusly:

Gua Sha is an East Asian healing technique. Gua means to scrape or rub. Sha is a ‘reddish, elevated, millet-like skin rash’ (aka petechiae). Sha is the term used to describe Blood stasis in the subcutaneous tissue before and after it is raised as petechiae. Gua Sha is one technique that intentionally raises Sha rash or petechiae. In Vietnam the technique is called Cao Yio, in Indonesia: Kerik, in Laos: Khoud Lam.

She goes on to say:

Gua Sha is used whenever a patient has pain whether associated with an acute or chronic disorder. There may be aching, tenderness and/or a knotty feeling in the muscles. Palpation reveals Sha when normal finger pressure on a patient’s skin causes blanching that is slow to fade. In addition to resolving musculo skeletal pain, Gua Sha is used to treat as well as prevent common cold, flu, bronchitis, asthma, as well as any chronic disorder involving pain, congestion of Qi and Blood.

All this and more can be found on her website at: http://www.guasha.com

I have personally used Gua Sha on patients who have had stubborn coughs or tight muscles that have not responded to other modalities for one reason or another. My patients are usually flabbergasted at how fast they see results.

I do warn my patients that Gua Sha should not be done if they are planning to go to the beach in the days following treatment, and that they should forewarn their special someone before showing them what the area that was worked on looks like. Although it does not hurt to get Gua Sha (it can be uncomfortable) or to touch the treated area afterwards, it can look quite shocking.

I have also used this technique quite successfully on children. They are usually more amenable to this technique and it can and has produced dramatic and positive results.

Recently, I was talking to a member of my BNI group (http://www.bnibethesda.com), who happens to hail from China. Well she got so excited to find someone who knows what Gua Sha is that we talked about it for 15 minutes or so. She then called over her husband, who is not from China, and told him excitedly what we were just talking about. It made her happy and I think, connected to China on some level.

It is feeling that my practice is unique in this way. I am able to and do incorporate different modalities into my treatments. I feel this greatly enhances the treatments that I offer my patients. I customize each treatment for my patients each time they visit with me.