A Guide To Gua Sha Massage

Feeling stiff, sore, or stressed? Gua Sha massage might be the natural solution you’ve been looking for. Scraping massage (also called Gua Sha, Spooning, or Coining) uses a smooth, rounded tool to gently glide over muscles and tendons.

This method has been practiced for thousands of years and is still widely used today in Acupuncture, Massage Therapy, Sports Therapy, and Chiropractic care read more to find out;

• What are the benefits of Gua Sha Massage?
• What Does Gua Sha Massage Treat?
• How does Gua Sha Massage work?
• What are the Gua Sha Marks ?
• Is Gua Sha Massage Painful?
• What are the Best Gua Sha Tools?
• Facial Gua Sha Massage.
• How Do You Do Gua Sha Correctly?
• Safety and Side Effects to Know.
• How to Find Gua Sha Massage Near Me.

Benefits of Gua Sha & Scraping Massage

For thousands of years, cultures around the world have used Gua Sha massage for its action to reduce tension, breakdown scar tissue, and to treat respiratory infection. Research today has found Gua Sha massage is beneficial to:

• Reduce inflammation
• Decrease pain
• Scar tissue and adhesions reduction
• Improve mobility
• Tissue healing
• Improve circulation
• Treat colds & Flus

Gua Sha massage is a safe, non-addictive, cost-effective therapy for chronic pain and tension.

Conditions Treated with Scraping Massage

Scraping therapy is used to relieve many conditions that have symptoms that include pain, tension, and inflammation. It’s often combined with other treatments to support recovery from a variety of conditions including but not limited to:

• Lower back Pain
• Neck Pain
• Achilles Tendinosis/itis
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Cervical Sprain/Strain
• Fibromyalgia
• Frozen Shoulder
• Lumbar Sprain/Strain
• Epicondylosis
• Patellofemoral Disorders
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Rotator Cuff Tendinosis/itis
• Scar Tissue
• Shin Splints
• Trigger Finger
• Post-Mastectomy and Caesarean
• Headaches and Migraines
• Perimenopause
• Plantar fasciitis

How Does Scraping Massage Work?

Scraping therapy works like massage but with some additional benefits, the physical action of massaging the muscle fibers reduces tension plus releases anti-inflammatory biochemicals and increases circulation.

With Scraping, the addition of a smooth, hard, rounded edge tool is used to increase pressure on tissue fibers and capillaries. Stoking the tool along the muscle fibers squeezes out metabolic waste materials including bilirubin, lactic acid, carbon dioxide from the tissues into the skin.

These toxins are filtered and trapped in skin where they are safely broken down by your body’s immune cells.

Many of the same immune cells fight infections like colds or flus and by scraping on the neck,shoulders, and chest at the initial onset has shown to significantly reduce the severity or duration of infection.

The physical scrapping action also squeezes out accumulated toxins and metabolic wastes from the tissues allowing more oxygen and nutrition to enter tissue cells, improving metabolism and tissue healing, strength, and mobility.

Gua

sha massage tools can reduce scar tissue when sufficient pressure is applied to mechanically damage the collagen fibers; this will cause the release of a hormone called growth factor and also attract stem cells to the scar to repair and regenerate it.

What to Expect After a Gua Sha Massage

It’s common to see red or purplish marks on the skin after treatment—this is called petechiae or “sha.” These marks are harmless and fade within a few days as your body processes the released toxins.

A person can have a warm shower after a gua sha massage but should refrain from using excessively hot water steam rooms or saunas.

Some people may find they are more sensitive to hot water 3 or 4 hours after treatment.

Does Scraping Massage Hurt

Scrapping therapy should feel like a firm massage. Oil or moisturizer should be used on the skin to reduce discomfort.

Scrapping therapy can be painful if the practitioner is applying too much pressure or they are doing the technique incorrectly.

The scrapping or pushing of the tool should only be in one direction following length ways along the grain of the muscle fibers. Each muscle has a direction that will be comfortable to scrape and a direction that will be less comfortable.

Scrapping the tool in the right direction will be more comfortable but also relax and stretch the muscle fibers more effectively.

A back-and-forth and cross fiber techniques are more painful and can aggravate pain, increase inflammation, damage muscle fibers, blood vessels and nerves.

Scrapping therapy to break down scar tissue requires stronger pressure to break collagen fibers and can hurt from the force required.

Acupuncture

is recommended as the best treatment for breaking down scar tissue as it is completely painless and significantly more effective.

What is the Best Type of Gua Sha Tool?

Gua Sha tools come in various materials including: jade, crystal, resin, plastic, and stainless steel. The material the tool is made of has no specific or additional benefits. The effectiveness comes from the right shape and technique used, not the material of the tool.

In fact, household items like a spoon, jar lid, or large coin can work just as well as a $300 stainless steel Graston tool or a $200 Jade Crystal one!

Facial Gua Sha Massage

Facial Gua Sha can be done with any tool made of plastic, resin, stainless steel, jade or crystal to help enhance skin elasticity, increase skin tone, improve complexion, boost blood supply, and drain lymph.

Gua Sha massage is often used as an add on in an

Acupuncture Facial treatment or as part of a spa facial treatment but to have noticeable effects that will last, it should be performed gently at home for 5 minutes, 2 to 3 times per week indefinitely.

How to do Scraping Massage Correctly

There are some variations in techniques used in traditional and modern scrapping massage but if your goal is to ease stiffness and tension or to unravel muscle knots with comfort and safety then here are some basic guide lines for scrapping massage;

One directional scrapping

; Scraping should be done in one direction along the length of the muscle fibers.

The best direction to scrape can be tested by scrapping the muscles in one direction a few times and then the other direction; the direction that feels more comfortable is the right direction.

The Gua sha tool works to relieve muscle tension and undo knots by straightening and stretching out the thousands of individual muscle fibers, just like hairs.

Just like when brushing your hair, the scrapping tool needs to be brushed in one direction; brushing back and forth will create knots.

How Much Presssure Is Used?

Strong pressure is not required for scraping or IASTM to be effective, a one directional, light pressure done repeatedly will realign muscle fibers, decrease knots, relieve stress, release pain hormones and anti-inflammatory chemicals plus trigger immune defense.

.Scraping massage strokes should begin with light pressure slowly increasing pressure with more strokes staying within the comfort level, if the pressure makes the muscles tighten or contract in response then too much pressure is being applied.

Where Can You Safely Gua Sha Massage?

Scraping therapy is generally considered safe when performed correctly and following safety precautions, if unsure a person should consult with a medical professional first.

A red mark or petechiae may appear after the treatment that will fade within 1-3 days causing no harmful effects.

Scraping massage should not be performed on people ;

• Taking Blood thinners
• Pregnant or think you may be

Scraping massage should not be done over;

• Bony areas
• Veins and arteries
• Varicose veins
• Skin infection, rash, eczema, dermatitis.
• Broken or cut skin.
• Surgical hardware. Pins, plates, screws etc.
• Recent surgery or broken bones
• Moles and skin cancers
• The face before 4 -6 weeks after using skin fillers or Botox.

The Gua sha tool strongly rubbed transversely across the muscle fibers can cause aggravation of pain and inflammation, with increased risk of damaging muscle fibers, blood vessels and nerves.

Searching online for "Gua Sha treatment near me" will a variety of different therapists offering included in the service like; Acupuncture Clermont or as an add on service with Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Massage Therapy and Sports Therapy.