Reading that scraping involves "scraping" may make you cringe. However, the practitioner will not scrape your body like you would a car windshield in the middle of winter. Scraping is generally gentle, and the intensity can increase depending on the type of nodules your acupuncturist encounters.
The edges of the scraping tools are smooth and rounded. They won't cut, stab or pinch you. Before your acupuncturist begins, they massage the treatment area with cream or lotion and then massage until you feel comfortable. The acupuncturist will not immediately do their best on an acupuncture point. They will find the tense tissue, gently work on it, and gradually increase the intensity to increase circulation to help break up any distorted areas.
Benefits of Gua Sha
Gua Sha is reported to help relieve a variety of health conditions. Gua sha is beneficial for musculoskeletal problems, especially major problems such as tightness in the shoulders, legs and back. It can also help relieve tension headaches, migraines, neck pain or body swelling. In addition to acupuncture , Gua Sha can even help relieve anxiety, fatigue, insomnia and perimenopausal symptoms.
We are simply promoting the flow of Qi through the body. We're helping to ensure better blood supply and proper nerve conduction so that everything moves through your body the way it should. When you do the scraping, hopefully any symptoms you experience will subside. That's the overall goal.
Through Gua Sha, acupuncture and Chinese medicine, we can treat a wide variety of conditions. If the blood and energy flow throughout your body is not smooth, it can manifest as muscle knots, soreness, weakness or pain. Acupuncture and Gua Sha will help promote a healthy conduction of blood supply and all substances in the tissues so we can keep your body as homeostatic as possible.
Gua Sha for the body
Gua Sha for the body is tissue dependent, which means you want to work in a way that supports your healing goals.
If you have a muscle knot, you will want to work through it first with your scraping tool. You'll want to work perpendicular to the muscle fibers so you can break up all the adhesions. Then, you want to go along the muscle fibers and stretch them to get them back in the right direction again. Since there are those painful knots in the upper shoulder, you will want to work the tool back and forth through them to break the knots. Once you begin to relax, you will begin to move the scraping tool in the direction of the muscle fibers, usually from the inside out. However, you don't want to start scraping in this direction because it will only make the tissue tighter.
Gua Sha for the face
You may have seen people on social media rubbing their faces with a gua sha pad and wondered what was going on. Gua sha has been shown to help relieve facial tension, reduce puffiness and inflammation, and may even help reduce sinus pressure. However, because the musculature of the face is much thinner, it's important to avoid applying too much pressure when working on this area.
In general, facial muscle tissue is very thin and does not bulge as much as other muscles. When scraping on your face, you don't want to drag the tool from the outer edges of your face. Instead, divide your face in half and use your nose as the midpoint. If you are working under your eyes, you will start at your nose and work your scraping tool outward. Allow your tool to move along a smooth, straight line. Don't rub the scraping tool back and forth, up and down, and at various angles with force, as this will only stretch and aggravate the skin. Keep things moving in a smooth direction and do just enough to create a little redness, but not so much that it hurts.
To help things go smoothly, you can even apply a lotion or serum before you perform the scraping. This way, your tool will glide over the skin more easily. It is advisable to avoid areas that are excessively swollen. You don't want to press hard on those because you can burst the capillary beds and end up with bruises on your face.
