What Is Gua Sha And Does It Really Work?

Our desire for an overall healthier wellbeing has us actively investigating a variety of medicines from around the world. The current practice in the spotlight is gua sha. According to Elle Australia, gua sha is an ancient Chinese practice done for better energy flow and blood circulation. Traditionally, a flat tool is used to scrap the skin all over the body. The scraping in a gua sha treatment is normally done with a tool made out of amethyst, jade, or rose quartz.

Medical News Today states that gua sha can also be called skin scraping, spooning, or coining. In traditional Chinese medicine, the qi (the energy that flows through the body) must be balanced and flowing freely to ensure an individual's health and well-being. The aim of gua sha is to prevent this energy from becoming blocked.

Clean energy channels and better blood circulation leaves us wanting to book the next gua sha appointment available, or at least try it on ourselves at home. But we have to wonder. Does it even work?

We've yet to find studies proving gua sha unclogs energy channels within us, but we have found there are a few other worthy perks of this ancient practice.

The first wonderful side effect of scraping our skin with a tool often made out of crystal is better skin. Elle Australia says continual practice of gua sha can give better skin through increased blood circulation, increased lymphatic drainage, and noticeably improved skin elasticity. An added bonus is that wrinkles and lines are known to become less visible as well.

These impressive results of gua sha were backed by a study shown via Research Gate. The research showed an increased microcirculation level to the treated area on the study's subjects. The study also showed reduced muscle tension and pain on and around the treatment site in every participant of the study. And as intense as skin scraping sounds, none of the participants experienced any adverse reactions, though Medical News Today says the Chinese practice can cause light bruising in the form of purple or red spots. These marks are called petechiae or sha.

If you are tempted to try gua sha for muscle relief, better skin, or for cleaner energy channels, then we support the worldly effort you are making for a healthier you.