Gua Sha

Gua Sha can provide immediate relief of chronic or acute pain arising from headaches and neck pain, to tendinitis, frozen shoulder and other aches and pains. In China, and increasingly in the US, Gua Sha is a household therapy performed with a spoon or the rounded smooth edge of a jar lid, or any such device. In addition to relieving pain Gua Sha can also reduce a fever making it very handy to use with children.

Gua Sha is performed by repeatedly scraping a tool with a smooth rounded edge, such as a ceramic soup spoon, along with a lubricating oil, over the skin. The repeated scraping done with moderate pressure provokes a red rash called petechiae to appear on the surface of the skin. Gua Sha is not painful and is actually very enjoyable bringing immediate relief of pain. I will often teach my patients how to perform this on themselves to help manage a chronic pain condition.