Gua Sha (Scrape way fever, cough, muscle pain)

Gua Sha was used in China as early as two thousand years ago. It was used especially in the country side to help a person with fever, pain, and fatigue. Gua Sha (Chinese: 括砂), literally "to scrape away fever" in Chinese (more loosely, "to scrape away disease by allowing the disease to escape as sandy-looking objects through the skin"), is an ancient medical treatment.

People who have fever, coughing, phlegm accumulate in the chest hard to expel can use this technique. Gua means to scrape or rub. Sha is a "reddish, elevated, millet-like skin rash' (aka petechiae). Sha is the term used to describe Blood stasis in the subcutaneous tissue before and after it is raised as petechiae. Gua Sha is one technique that intentionally raises a Sha rash or petechiae.

If you have the following problem: • Chronic pain • Systemic disease (toxicity) • Poor blood circulation • Lymphatic congestion • Inflammation, • Fatigue • Infections • Physical or emotional stress • Coughing with difficulty expel phlegm • Feeling of tight Chest • Common cold and fever. • Vomiting and diarrhea.  You will greatly benefit from Gua Sha treatment.

Gua Sha treatments are not painful. Red spots are an indication that toxins are being released. Where the area is deep purple the blood is old and extremely stagnant. A dark green discoloration is a sign that stagnant blood and toxic "qi" are being released from the system.

Gua Sha is a folk physiotherapy based on traditional Chinese medicine theories. According to the TCM theory of “the twelve channels and eight extra meridians”, Gua Sha is performed on certain parts of the skin by scraping with a tool to stimulate the main and collateral channels.

This may result in sub-cutaneous blemishing, which will help dredge meridians, promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis.

Case study

Patient had cough for a while on and off, now combining with symptoms of running nose, phlegm in the chest but hard to expel, post nasal dripping, difficulty breathing and irritability.

I did a cupping treatment first on Lung (UB12, 13), Spleen (UB20) and Kidney ( UB23) first. The color of the skin after the cupping was dull red. I decided to do Gua Sha. After 5 minutes of scraping, the Sha was gradually showing up. At this time, I ask how patient feel. She said “ I can feel my chest open it up”.

I continued Gua Sha along the spine specially on three area (Lung, Spleen, Kidney). At the same time needle was inserted on SJ5, LU7 and LI4 (Patient was face down). After Gua Sha, remove SJ5, LI4 ( keep LU7 needles stay), turn patient face up. 

I inserted needle to Ren 17, Ren 12, Ren 6 to restored her spleen qi and stop coughing. I also added LI 20 on the face near the nose to aid the congestion. After 15 minutes, I asked how she felt. She said “ I can not believe how I can breath now, and feeling of phlegm in my chest is gone. I can breath much deeper now”.

Conclusion

By working with digestion (Spleen& abdominal)point to treat the roots of the problem. Working with Lung points to expel the pathogens and strength the Protect wei qi. Strengthening the kidney will craps the qi down stopping coughing and protect chronic coughing injure the kidney.