What is Gua Sha?

​Gua Sha is a manual therapy technique that uses different types of tools to mobilize and break up adhesions on the muscle, promote blood flow, move lymphatic fluid, and release stuck energy. 

Gua sha is the light stroking of the skin, following meridians, muscle, and fascia lines. While your practitioner can apply a gua sha technique anywhere on the body and in many clinical situations, it is most often applied to the face, neck, and back, and it is called for anytime there is pain, inflammation, and stagnation in the body.

The secret of how gua sha works lies in how connective tissues function in our body.  Connective tissue supports, connects, transmits, and contains every cell in the human body. Fascia, a type of connective tissue, connects the skin to deep layers of muscle, and to all other tissues, in what has been called a “body-wide signaling network.” The stroking technique of gua sha activates the most superficial level of fascia, which in turn activates both deep layers of fascia and organs far from the site of the stroking. This action releases deep muscle tension, increases micro-circulation, and causes vasodilation, all associated with pain reduction.

​Clinical research has demonstrated that gua sha immediately reduces pain near the site of application as well as far from the site of application, making it a fantastic treatment method for any type of pain in the body (new, old, musculoskeletal, organ, digestive, headache, or just about anything else you can think of).

Gua sha has been around for a loooooooong time, it is incredibly useful and versatile and we love using it here in our clinic because of its unique ability to stimulate of the immune system through fascia and connective tissue.

Benefits of Gua Sha:

• Relieving pain, especially from repetitive overuse, inexplicable muscle pain, pain from past injuries 
• Boost the immune system and relieve the symptoms of the common cold or flu
• Faster recovery time from injuries 
• Facial Gua Sha (which I'll go into detail in another post) can de-puff the face by facilitating lymphatic drainage into the neck and bring fresh blood & nutrients to the skin for that healthy glow

What Are Those Red Marks?
Don’t be alarmed, though; absolutely no pain or drama was involved. Sha of the skin may cause splotchy red marks (similar to cupping) to appear in the area as the blood rises to the surface of the skin.  In Chinese Medicine we call this Sha

The "Sha" only appears in areas of tight muscles or area with muscular adhesions. 

Don't worry, the marks are painless and will go away after a few days. 
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What To Do After Your Gua Sha Session 

• You may feel significant improvement just following your session but its a good idea to take it easy for the rest of the day and not over do it. 
• Gua sha opens your pores so you must keep the area covered and not exposed to cold, the sun, or wind for the first 24 hours.  Although not painful, your skin will be sensitive and more prone to sun burning in that first 24 hours.