What does Gua Sha do?
You may have seen numerous posts on social media of women using flat jade tools on their face as the newest trend in the beauty industry. This is done to increase circulation and improve lymphatic drainage in the facial region in the hopes of reducing wrinkles and helping with swelling. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what Gua Sha actually does.
Pronounced Gwah-shah, it is a therapy for pain management for conditions such as neck pain, back pain, and shoulder pain. There are more conditions that it may be helpful for, but the studies have shown significant improvement in the conditions mentioned above. Gua Sha is a Chinese word for scraping. It has been used for thousands of years as one of Chinese Medicine healing modalities. A smooth edged tool is used to scrape a surface of the body, such as neck or shoulders to increase blood circulation and to break down fibrosis, which is a medical term for a build up of tissue, which may be there due to a previous injury. Post Gua Sha treatment, the area may have redness or small raised bumps which can last for a few days. This reaction is totally normal and expected. It is not only therapeutic but diagnostic as well. You may notice reduction of pain and improved range of motion as the treatment results are near immediate.
What do studies show? A study from 2007, shows that Gua Sha increases microcirculation in the treated area by 400%. This increase in circulation allows more blood into the area meaning the treated tissue is getting more oxygen and nutrients resulting in faster recovery, which results in less pain and more range of motion. Another study from 2014, has shown that Gua Sha reduced pain, improved range of motion of the neck for people with regular computer use.
A study from 2019 concluded that Gua Sha is not only great for pain you may be experiencing but it is also great for those trying to prevent muscle fatigue and improve their performance in the gym. The study of 44 weightlifters concluded that Gua Sha therapy can facilitate weightlifting ability, reduce rating of perceived exertion (RPE), lowered creatinine levels, and promote faster recovery.
What conditions is it great for?
-Stiff neck due to rounded shoulder posture or working long hours in front of your computer
-Wry neck-due to sleeping “wrong”
-Pain in the shoulder area
-Migraines due to stiff neck and upper back
-Sore back due to hard workouts
-Previous injury that is still causing you pain due to fibrosis
