Why can scraping on the body treat diseases?
Gua Sha (Scraping Therapy)
Tool: Niu Jiao Ban (Horn Plate)
Effect: Improves microcirculation, mobilizes the immune system
At Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, there is a clinic where patients often come after trying various treatments elsewhere. The “prescriptions” given by the doctors are quite unique; Gua Sha and cupping can treat half of the ailments.
Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is the first hospital in the country to establish a Gua Sha clinic. Since its establishment in 2010, it has received over 30,000 patients annually and is very popular.
What diseases can Gua Sha “scrape” away?
What exactly is the “Sha” that is scraped?
Recently,
the Modern Express reporter visited the Gua Sha clinic to explore this ancient Chinese medical treatment method that has been practiced for thousands of years.
Personalized treatment, Gua Sha is easy to learn but difficult to master
The Gua Sha clinic is located on the 8th floor of the outpatient building of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Walking through the corridor, the four consultation rooms are filled with patients. Inside the consultation room, An Hongli is busy with the Gua Sha board, moving from one patient to another without a break, hardly having time to drink water. Despite the high number of patients, she dedicates equal time to each, patiently taking their pulses, first observing, listening, asking, and palpating, then carefully differentiating syndromes, and finally prescribing a unique “Gua Sha prescription”. An Hongli explains that this is actually a personalized treatment plan tailored to different patients, composed of unique Gua Sha techniques, meridians, and acupoints, sometimes requiring the combination of cupping and moxibustion.
An Hongli has been deeply influenced by her family since childhood, developing a strong interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and becoming a practitioner has been her dream for many years. In 2010, when Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine opened the Gua Sha clinic, An Hongli accumulated extensive clinical experience in TCM, gaining a large following with her traditional therapies of Gua Sha and cupping.
Gua Sha has a low entry barrier, making it easy to learn, but it is challenging to truly master and effectively relieve patients’ pain quickly. An Hongli explains while demonstrating the scraping technique on a patient, stating that the action of “scraping” appears simple but encompasses profound TCM theories, requiring comprehensive mastery of the force, speed, and angle of the hand while accurately differentiating syndromes.
Many patients come after trying various treatments
During the interview, the Modern Express reporter found that many patients had tried various treatments before finally coming to An Hongli to resolve their ailments. “Last year, I had inexplicable pain in my left chest and back, underwent various tests without finding a cause, took numerous medications, and after half a year of turmoil, I still couldn’t sleep at night due to the pain. I came here in May this year to try Gua Sha, and unexpectedly, after just two treatments, the pain disappeared,” Ms. Tao recounted her previous experience with disbelief.
At that moment, a patient arrived at the clinic and greeted An Hongli warmly. An Hongli pointed to her and said, “Can you imagine that she used to weigh 130 pounds and had acne all over her face?” It turns out that this woman had gained weight and developed acne due to taking hormones for an illness a few years ago, and her health was so poor that she would catch a cold just from walking outside. “This is my long-term patient. She has been receiving Gua Sha and cupping here for conditioning, and now she has lost weight down to 100 pounds, her acne has cleared up, and her overall health is much better than before.”
Patients often describe her treatment as “magical.” An Hongli smiles and says, “It’s not that Gua Sha is magical, nor am I magical; it’s about finding the real cause of the illness. The technique is key; through accurate syndrome differentiation and formulating corresponding treatment plans, we can achieve effective results.” She mentions that Gua Sha can treat a wide range of conditions, and she often researches the diseases encountered in her clinic, such as insomnia, cough, allergic rhinitis, cervical spondylosis, headaches, etc.
Clarification
Can scraping with a Gua Sha board on the neck, back, and waist really treat diseases? What principles are involved? An Hongli introduces a slightly smaller than palm-sized transparent yellow board, explaining that this is a Gua Sha board made from horn. By applying a medium, it can be used on patients for Gua Sha, stimulating the skin and meridians to improve the flow of Qi and blood in the body, thereby achieving effects such as dispelling pathogenic factors, regulating Yin and Yang, expelling wind and cold, invigorating blood circulation, clearing heat and reducing swelling, softening hardness and dissipating nodules, etc.
An Hongli explains that “Sha” refers to the red or purplish spots and patches visible under the skin, which are actually blood containing metabolic byproducts that have seeped out of the blood vessels. The presence of wind and dampness in the body, along with some metabolic byproducts in the blood, can lead to blood circulation disorders, resulting in the appearance of “Sha.”
The “Sha” produced by Gua Sha is not the same as bruising: bruising is often caused by trauma, with significant bleeding, and the areas with bruising are painful and difficult to move. The red or purplish spots that appear after Gua Sha involve minimal bleeding, seeping from capillaries, and do not cause pain after scraping. Moreover, the expulsion of “Sha” promotes blood circulation and increases metabolic rate, providing therapeutic effects. An Hongli states that according to meridian theory and syndrome differentiation, Gua Sha has good efficacy for various internal and external conditions, especially for externally contracted diseases, painful bone and joint conditions, as well as neuromuscular vascular diseases and post-illness rehabilitation.
Source: Modern Express