Gua Sha
Researchers believe that gua sha has an even longer history than acupuncture or traditional Chinese medicine. Nonetheless, gua sha (which is also known as cao gio) has been working very well as an additional modality in traditional Chinese medicine. Gua sha involves scraping or press-stroking of skin and underlying tissues over strategically selected areas of the body using specially designed plates, spoons, or other tools. The main reason why it works so well as part of traditional Chinese medicine is that gua sha offers an effective way to stimulate acupuncture points and meridians, to dissipate stagnation, stasis, or excesses that build-up due to various health conditions and injuries. Even though the number of research studies on gua sha is significantly smaller than that on acupuncture, the findings demonstrate that gua sha has significant therapeutic effects. In fact, these discoveries have been so reassuring that gua sha is gradually becoming part of integrative medicine, and at the Advanced Holistic Center’s Downtown Miami gua sha and Miami Beach gua sha practitioners pay close attention to any new relevant discovery, so they can help our clients to take advantage from both traditional methods as well as newest scientific findings.
Gua Sha Massage
Even in the past, gua sha used to be done using somewhat unexpected tools, such as regular Chinese soupspoons, a slice of water-buffalo horn, a cow rib, an edge-worn coin, honed flat jade plates, to name a few, but during the last few decades, a variety of new gua sha tools appeared on the market, varying in shapes and materials even more than before. While the press-stroking, which is gua sha, appears to have very little in common with cupping, the outcomes bear some resemblance; although, many patients report that gua sha feels much more pleasant than cupping while it is done. Gua Sha’s therapeutic effects are believed to be the result of gua sha’s capability to increase surface microcirculation. As the authors of one article on gua sha published several years ago in the scholarly journal Explore state, “There is an unidentified pain-relieving biomechanism associated with Gua Sha.” Due to the limited research on gua sha, the practitioners at the Advanced Holistic Center’s Downtown Miami gua sha and Miami Beach gua sha rely primarily on the traditional methods and recommendations, but they do their best to be up to date on the latest scientific discoveries in their field.
Gua Sha Benefits
While the therapeutic benefits of gua sha have not been studied enough to create a clear picture of what it can and cannot do, the practitioners at the Advanced Holistic Center’s Downtown Miami gua sha and Miami Beach gua sha usually use gua sha as part of a larger treatment plan according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine or locally, to speed up healing of strains and sprains, or to help patients recover from stress. Researchers appear to agree, though, that gua sha increases surface circulation and microperfusion about 400% at the treatment site, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and relieves pain, all over a period of days. When gua sha is used within the framework of the traditional Chinese medical approach, its press-stroking provides an excellent way to stimulate specific acupuncture points and areas on the meridians to achieve a desired healing effect. Similar to cupping therapy, gua sha works best over a period of about 3 to 10 treatments, rather than one or two, to minimize the stress on the skin, and it works equally well therapeutically and preventatively. Many patients like having gua sha done on them because of its calming effect and because the procedure itself feels rather pleasant.
Something Else
Advanced Holistic Center is a NYC based acupuncture and holistic healthcare clinic. Advanced Holistic Center has more locations and longer open hours than almost any complementary and alternative healthcare facility in all of NYC. With four offices manned by our fully licensed and board certified acupuncturists and herbalists, a team of highly-qualified: assistants, meditation teachers.
Is Gua Sha Safe?
Even though scientists have not fully understood the therapeutic potential of gua sha, they created a gua sha safety protocol, nonetheless, and our practitioners at the Advanced Holistic Center’s Downtown Miami gua sha and Miami Beach gua sha are well aware of gua sha’s indication and contraindications, which they discuss with each patient in relation to his or her individual circumstances. If gua sha is not performed over open wounds, swellings, skin rashes, or infections, it is quite safe to use. The most common side effect of gua sha is local soreness and bruising, but it occurs only when gua sha is done overzealously. Scientific literature has several reports that the bruise-like marks on the skin that sometimes appear at the areas on which gua sha was done had been misinterpreted as signs of abuse. More often than not, however, the fast symptom relief and long-lasting results outweigh the minor and infrequent side effects of gua sha.
Does it hurt?
Advanced Holistic Center is a NYC based acupuncture and holistic healthcare clinic. Advanced Holistic Center has more locations and longer open hours than almost any complementary and alternative healthcare facility in all of NYC. With four offices manned by our fully licensed and board certified acupuncturists and herbalists, a team of highly-qualified: assistants, meditation teachers.