One of the newest beauty crazes on the market is the gua sha which has been sited to help with circulation, lymphatic drainage, and the production of collagen and elastin.  For these reasons, many people have incorporated this into their beauty routines before they do their skincare, but is there more to this than that?  


Gua sha is a traditional East Asian medicine practice that has been used to treat muscle pain, tightness, and strain.  Treatment involves using the gua sha tool to break down scar tissue and connective tissue utilizing targeted strokes to the skin. The name gua sha comes from the Chinese words “gua” meaning to scrape and “sha” which can be translated to “redness of skin” or “bruise”.  Thus, we see that treatment looks like scraping affected muscular areas with the scraping tool. Traditional East Asian medicine emphasizes the detriment of blood stagnation, as seen also with the practice of cupping.  The gua sha is meant to move this stagnated blood to help relieve symptoms of pain and tightness. 


In the physical therapy industry, gua sha-like practices are known as the Graston technique, where the tool is utilized to stretch release tight muscles and scar tissue.  According to Cleveland Clinic, the only difference between the Graston technique and gua sha is the terminology used— where physical therapists will talk about anatomy and physiology while acupuncturists will talk about qi (chi) and stagnation. For more on what Cleveland Clinic has to say about gua sha, check out their article here:  


Cleveland Clinic: Health Essentials



The gua sha works by creating small injury known as microtrauma to the body.  Microtrauma elicits a response from the central nervous system and the immune system via different cytokines, some of which are anti-inflammatory.  The anti-inflammatory cytokines determine the role of T-cells.  The T-cell (TH2) lymphocyte response is usually the response to trauma or injury, which results in an up-regulation of humoral immunity.  Down the line, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol are released, where epinephrine contributes to modulating the inflammatory response along with temporary proliferative wound healing.  Additionally, cortisol is the body’s naturally produced anti-inflammatory by inhibiting vasodilation and alter leukocyte activity.  Cortisol is used in many cases to treat inflammatory diseases because of its immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory characteristics.  Simply put, the gua sha causes micro tears, which illicit the immune and central nervous systems to respond in such a way that promotes healing to problem muscular areas.


So what are some ways one may use the gua sha to their benefit?  According to the aforementioned Cleveland Clinic article, gua sha can help alleviate tightness and tension in muscles.  This has the potential to relieve some stress caused by musculoskeletal issues.  It has been reported that gua sha can help with tension head aches, neck pain, and in some cases anxiety.  The use of gua sha techniques on the face is meant to relieve tension, reduce inflammation, has also been reported to reduce sinus pressure.  With that said, if you choose to try gua sha, you should refer to a professional who is experienced with these techniques.  


For more interesting blog posts and discussions, check out our website at www.sanjacchiro.com or you can come to our office and ask our chiropractor in person! 


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