Gua Sha is a traditional East Asian healing modality that has been used for many centuries to help in the healing of a multitude of common health disorders.  Used on its own, or often as a supplement to acupuncture treatment, Gua Sha is a technique whereby the practitioner applies pressure with a thin round-edged object in unidirectional strokes along a lubricated area of a patient's skin.  An underutilized and under appreciated therapy in the modern world, it has a wide range of traditional functions, and more recently, there have been some very impressive western biomedical research findings that confirm the power and effectiveness of this simple traditional therapy.

Gua Sha is probably most known traditionally for its ability to rapidly resolve many different types of pain syndromes.  From a Classical Chinese Medical perspective, gua sha is indicated in the treatment of stagnant blood, or poor blood circulation, among other types of stagnation.  Blood stasis is often a component of many pain conditions, including neck, shoulder, arm, back and leg pain, as well as in conditions such as painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea).  Other pain disorders that can be effectively treated with gua sha include but are not limited to headaches, chest pain and pain due to indigestion.  

When the gua sha therapy is applied, if there is blood stasis in the local tissue being treated, there will be a raising of transitory therapeutic petechiae on the skin.  This looks like little red dots right underneath the skin surface, and can often be mistaken for a bruise, which it is not.  The color that comes up on the skin during gua sha is direct visual evidence of the blood stagnation and metabolic toxins that have been congesting the tissue coming up to the surface level of the body right below the skin.  When this stagnation is pulled out of the tissues, it allows for fresh oxygenated blood to come into the area to aid the healing process.  It is not uncommon for people who have had even very chronic pain conditions that have not responded to other therapies to have immediate relief of pain and stiffness at the treatment location and distal to it, along with a return of normal range of motion if this was compromised.  It is very satisfying for both the patient and practitioner to witness such immediate and dramatic results.  Gua sha also excels in its ability to reduce fever, reduce inflammation in chronic illness, and alter the course of various types of acute infectious ailments.  It is indicated in all types of respiratory disorders, including asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cough.  

Modern western medical research has identified a number of mechanisms by which gua sha provides such impressive medical benefits.  Some of the most intriguing research is a Harvard study which showed that gua sha up regulates (increases) gene expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an enzyme that is both an antioxidant and cytoprotectant (cell protectant), at multiple organ sites immediately following and for days after gua sha treatment.  The implications of this are profound, given that HO-1 plays a protective role relevant to a wide range of conditions including allergic inflammation, asthma, organ transplant rejection, inflammatory bowel disease, and hepatitis B and C. Effects on HO-1 may therefore explain the benefits that gua sha has shown in a number of clinical research studies of inflammatory conditions (e.g., chronic hepatitis), as well as the wide range of benefits acupuncturists observe routinely in patients with inflammatory conditions. The study by the Harvard group is the first to show both an immediate and a sustained biological immune response from a Chinese medical procedure, and has direct relevance to a wide range of internal organ and inflammatory problems.

The ability of gua sha to effectively treat such a wide array of disorders quickly, safely and easily should encourage practitioners of all types of healing arts to become familiar and proficient with this therapy.  Considered an invaluable technique traditionally in Chinese Medicine, it is unfortunate that more acupuncturists do not utilize this therapy regularly. This is probably due to lack of proper education on the numerous benefits it affords, and also at times, insecurity on the part of the practitioner to administer a therapy that leaves very temporary markings on the patient's body.  As modern research continues to confirm the benefits of gua sha, hopefully it will be utilized more regularly in place of more aggressive forms of treatment with less favorable side effect profiles.

If the reader has questions about how gua sha or acupuncture treatment may be able to help in their particular health challenges, they are welcome to call the center to discuss their situation with the acupuncturist.  Likewise, he will happily direct you to the scientific references/studies upon request if you wish to learn more.  He extends his gratitude to his gua sha teacher, the Western authority on gua sha, Arya Nielsen for her unrelenting efforts to bring this traditional technique into the modern world.    

To Your Good Health and Happiness,