Just a beauty therapy?

Gua Sha, or scraping therapy, has been popularised lately as a beauty therapy for the face. This is sort of funny for acupuncturists, because if you’d seen what someone’s back look likes after a good deep gua sha session then there’s no way you’d want that happening on your face!

I can’t really comment on the effectiveness of gua sha for the face and beauty therapy, it’s just not something that was traditionally done. That said, if done gently and correctly I can’t see it causing any harm. What I’m going to talk about is how gua sha is used by acupuncturists.

Gua Sha: What is it?

Gua sha is called scraping therapy for good reason. It involves scraping the skin while applying pressure with a flat object. Only objects with rounded edges are used so we don’t damage the skin, and only a pressure that’s firm but tolerable is used. We don’t want you jumping off the table and running away. The strokes are performed in one direction, repeatedly, until the sha shows up. Sha are the spots that show up after gua sha. There will also be redness at first, but that’s just the skin responding to the pressure and generally fades within minutes. The spots however tend to linger for a few days on average; but rather than the salami slices that cupping leaves you with these are much smaller, though more of them. Using gua sha as a therapy is a little more nuanced, but in essence it’s as simple as that. But let me tell you, afterward a good gua sha session it feels great.

So, why would I want it?

Gua sha is used for a few things, with the main one being muscular problems. Gua sha can treat the whole back, hips, and legs in a short amount of time; it’s great at treating a large area. Gua sha has been found to relieve pain and improve circulation too. One of my favourite ways to use gua sha is to treat tight ITBs. Now this particular therapy is definitely uncomfortable to receive; anyone who has had ITBs knows just how sensitive they can be. But I have found nothing more effective than gua sha to relieve that tightness and the relief is instantaneous.

Traditionally gua sha was also used to treat colds and flu’s. They would treat the upper back and neck to reduce the duration of the illness. There hasn’t been any contemporary research into this, but it’s been around in the east Asian culture for hundreds of years, and there is evidence that gua sha activates our immune system.

In short, it’s like cupping but you can do larger areas much quicker and easier. It’s also my favourite manual treatment.