If you come across the term Gua Sha on social media for the very first time, you might assume that it’s a new trend. However, this muscle scraping technique has roots in traditional Chinese medicine dating back thousands of years. To put it plainly, Gua Sha is a technique usually done by an acupuncturist or massage therapist.
They use a small, smooth-edged tool to gently stroke or scrape areas of your skin to try to improve circulation and promote healing. You can regard to it as a standard treatment modality that most acupuncturists use. The term loosely translates to scraping, rubbing, or pushing, essentially a tool-assisted type of massage.
Even though scraping might sound painful, Gua Sha is a gentle technique. It’s done on your face during very light pressure, and if an acupuncturist performs it elsewhere on your body, like over tight muscles they may increase the intensity depending on the notes they encounter. In traditional Chinese medicine, Gua Sha is said to help balance the flow of Qi or energy throughout the body. Western medicine doesn’t follow those principles, but modern studies show Gua Sha may have benefits.
One of the most documented benefits of gua sha is its ability to increase blood flow. This type of treatment has been shown to increase microcirculation in the areas where it’s performed. What this simply means is that it helps to promote flow through your body’s smallest blood vessels. The result of this is to help ensure a better blood supply so everything is moving through your body as it should.
Aside from increasing blood flow, gua sha has also been proven to reduce inflammation. It can cause small reddish-purple spots to form on your skin. They may look like a rash, but they are petechiae, tiny spots of bleeding under the skin caused by broken capillaries. The thinking is that this triggers an anti-inflammatory response, prompting your body to promote healing in the area, but this hasn’t been scientifically validated.
You can never forget the sheer fact that some people believe gua sha helps improve lymphatic drainage. Social media influencers raise the suspicion gua sha can reduce puffiness, though research doesn’t address this benefit. But much like lymphatic drainage self-massage, the gentle downward motion of gua sha may help get your lymphatic fluid moving. This may help lessen facial puffiness and help you feel more relaxed and refreshed.
WeeklyMinds.com is proud to feature an author who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our blog. Weekly Minds is an accomplished freelancer writer with 12 years of experience in the field.
WeeklyMinds.com has a passion for sharing insights and perspectives on political, news, technology, home improvement, interiors and many more. Their unique perspective on current affairs has been featured in numerous publications and they have been a guest speaker at college fests.
WeeklyMinds.com is also an avid interest in writing and reading and enjoys singing, music, shopping, travelling and some more. In their free time, they can often be found of reading the novels and various current topics.
We are thrilled to have Elia Scala as a contributor to WeeklyMinds and look forward to their continued insights and contributions to our blog.