（Weibo screenshot）
Some netizens commented, “So scary,” “I feel for you, does Gua Sha hurt a lot?” “I’ve experienced it, it really hurts, take care of your health,” and so on.
From the comments, it is clear that many people still do not understand Gua Sha. Today, I will discuss the topic of “Does Gua Sha Hurt?” with everyone.
1. Does Gua Sha Hurt? It Depends on Your ‘Flow’
There is a famous saying in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): “When the flow is smooth, there is no pain; when there is pain, there is no flow.” This means that when the meridians (jingmai) are unobstructed, the body functions normally, and one does not feel pain or discomfort. Conversely, when the meridians are blocked, it can lead to pain or illness.
For example, people who often sit in front of a computer or frequently use their phones tend to maintain a fixed posture for long periods. This directly affects the circulation of Qi (气) and blood (血) in the shoulders and neck, leading to the accumulation of lactic acid and resulting in symptoms such as shoulder and neck soreness, tingling, and stiffness.
Why does moving or massaging feel better? It is because movement helps to promote the flow of Qi and blood, allowing lactic acid to be metabolized and eliminated.
Another example is many young women experience dysmenorrhea (痛经). TCM believes that the causes of dysmenorrhea are due to pathogenic factors (mainly cold and dampness) invading the body during or around the menstrual period, leading to obstruction in the flow of Qi and blood in the Chong (冲) and Ren (任) meridians, resulting in blood stasis in the uterus, or the Chong and Ren meridians failing to warm the uterus, thus causing dysmenorrhea.
Why do many women feel better when they hold a hot water bottle or drink warm water during their period? This external “heat” warms the uterus, promotes the circulation of Qi and blood, and alleviates the stasis.
To thoroughly address this issue, one can try using moxa sticks (艾条) or a foot bath with moxa and safflower (艾绒红花足浴包), which are both quite effective. For more information on moxa sticks and foot baths, please click on the “Read More” link below the article.
Therefore, whether Gua Sha hurts or not primarily depends on whether your body is “flowing smoothly.” The appearance of purple or even black marks on Yang Chenglin’s neck indicates a significant blockage!
2. Does Gua Sha Hurt? The ‘Tools,’ ‘Medium,’ and ‘Technique’ Matter
The Gua Sha tools—To reduce pain during Gua Sha, the surface of the Gua Sha board must be smooth (most spas use coins for Gua Sha, which can be quite painful).
The Gua Sha medium—A medium is essential during Gua Sha to ensure lubrication and reduce pain. (It is recommended to use pure plant essential oils, which not only provide lubrication but also deliver the effective substances contained in the oils to the tissues, organs, and cells.)
The Gua Sha technique—The techniques include nourishing (补法) (slow speed, light pressure), draining (泻法) (fast speed, heavy pressure), and balanced nourishing and draining (平补平泻) (between nourishing and draining). A professional Gua Sha practitioner will adapt their technique based on individual conditions (deficiency vs. excess, cold vs. heat, exterior vs. interior, yin vs. yang, and pressure tolerance).
If all three aspects meet the requirements, the pain experienced by the recipient will be significantly reduced.
3. Does Gua Sha Hurt? It Depends on Your ‘Tension’
Are you surprised? What does pain have to do with “tension”?
Answer: It definitely has a relationship. Consider the two states of tension and relaxation; which one makes your sense of touch more sensitive? When you are tense, all your attention is focused on the Gua Sha board and the area being scraped, making you more aware of even slight pain! On the other hand, when you are tense, your muscles, skin, and blood vessels are all in a tight state, which increases the sensation of pain.
Gua Sha can help alleviate cold symptoms and related issues.
“Gua Sha, on one hand, expels cold and toxins that are harmful to health from the body through the formation of Sha (痧), and on the other hand, utilizes the body’s immune and metabolic systems to decompose and eliminate cold and toxins, thus achieving the effects of detoxification, expelling pathogenic factors, relieving wind-cold, smoothing the meridians, and enhancing immunity.”
Typically, when symptoms such as colds or fevers occur, Gua Sha can be performed on the back, specifically along the Du (督) meridian in the center and the two sides of the Bladder (膀胱) meridian. Since all the back-shu points (背俞穴) of the organs are located on the back, scraping the back can also help adjust the various organs and expel “toxic gases” from the body.
Other areas can be scraped specifically, for example, for sore throat, Gua Sha can be performed in the middle of the front neck. For nasal congestion and runny nose, scraping the sides of the nose at the Yingxiang (迎香) points can be particularly effective.