Gua Sha as Practiced by the Kuang Family of Beijing
What is Gua Sha?
Gua Sha is an old traditional folk medicine treatment from China. It involves the scraping of lubricated skin in a way that causes surface rash and bruising. Gua Sha was traditionally practiced at the family level, rarely being practiced by professional medical providers. In recent years practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) have begun using Gua Sha, and fitting it into the conceptual models of meridians and qi flow used in TCM. This modern movement is outlined in the recent book: Holographic Meridian Scraping Therapy by Zhang Xiuqin and Hao Wanshan, Foreign Languages Press Beijing. On this webpage I am going to outline the traditional practice of Gua Sha by laypeople, as handed down within the Kuang family of Beijing. For information on how Gua Sha is practiced by modern TCM practitioners I recommend the Scraping Therapy text.
Although Gua Sha has been practiced by laypeople in China for hundreds or thousands of years, I do not advocate Gua Sha practice by laypeople. Anyone practicing Gua Sha needs to inform themselves of any possible hazards relating to their personal medical condition. Please consult your physician prior to experimenting with Gua Sha.
When is Gua Sha used?
Gua Sha is used when extra "heat" or "cold," or an imbalance is perceived in the body. This may be due to: stress, sore throat, muscle aching, and numerous other conditions. People who use Gua Sha become familiar with the reaction of their body to Gua Sha and also conditions in their bodies that may be helped by a Gua Sha treatment. Conditions amenable to Gua Sha treatment evidence the presence of sha, or a sandy feeling substance under the skin that can be felt when the skin is scraped with a tool. This sandy feeling is felt by the person doing the scraping, not the person whose skin is being scraped. The person whose skin is being scraped generally feels pain in the areas where sha is present. The severity of the pain is dependent on the amount of sha present and the unhealthy condition, and is not dependent on the pressure exerted by the scraping tool. Gua (first tone) means scrape, and Sha (first tone) means sand or grit. The Chinese name "Gua Sha" accurately describes the sensation of scraping of grit when encountering an area with sha.
Gua Sha is not used over broken skin, areas of infection, or boils.
The tools of Gua Sha
Numerous tools are available in China for the practice of Gua Sha. Pictured below are various commercially available metal, ceramic, plastic, jade, and horn Gua Sha tools.
The use of the metal spoon in the final photograph, or the rulers, as Gua Sha scraping tools is not recommended. The Gua Sha scraping tool should have a blunt edge to avoid damaging the skin. A plastic comb with a smooth blunt edge, a Chinese ceramic soup spoon, or a jar lid with a rolled edge are all commonly available items that will work as scraping tools for Gua Sha.
Gua Sha also requires a lubricant to be placed on the skin prior to scraping. Water may be used for a lubricant, or oil, or (as pictured below) a mixture of water and oil.
Gua Sha Treatment
Subject A - Caucasian male. Back has been shaved prior to treatment.
Scraping begins on the spine. Scraping is generally in a downward direction, and outward from the spine. Scraping is done in short quick strokes. Pressure need not be hard. Adjustments to pressure may be made based on what the receiver can tolerate.
Areas in which the scraper feels a gritty substance under the skin, or where the receiver feels pain, should get extra scraping. It is in these areas that the bruising will occur.
In this instance there was only light bruising. There was minimal perception of sha by the scraper. After 3 hours, there was almost no evidence left of bruising.
Subject B, Oriental female
In this instance there was noticeable gritty sha perceived by the scraper in the areas with bruising. The areas without bruises were also scraped with the same tool and pressure as the bruised areas. When an area of sha was identified, scraping continued longer in that area and redness developed. As a test, prolonged scraping was tried in an area with no perceived sha, and no bruising developed in that area.
After a Gua Sha treatment, the subject is advised to abstain from bathing until the bruising disappears. Showers are acceptable. The discoloration from a Gua Sha treatment will disappear in a time ranging from an hour to 4 days, depending on the magnitude of the bruising.
This is a picture of Subject B after another Gua Sha treatment that occurred approximately one year before the treatment pictured above. This photo was taken one day after the treatment. Note the more extensive nature of the bruising after this treatment. Subject B reported similar perceived scraping pressure in both treatments.
Warning - U.S. teachers and physicians have reported instances of bruising due to Gua Sha treatments to Child Protective Services and children have been removed from their homes on that basis. One such incident was dramatized in the 2001 movie, "Gua Sha" or "The Treatment."