Gua sha (Chinese: ??) is a traditional Chinese medical treatment in which the skin is scraped to produce light bruising. Practitioners believe gua sha releases unhealthy elements from injured areas and stimulates blood flow and healing. Gua sha is sometimes referred to as "spooning" or "coining" by English speakers, it has also been given the descriptive French name, tribo-effleurage.
Gua sha was transferred into Vietnamese from China as c?o gió, and is very popular in Vietnam. This term translates roughly "to scrape wind", as in Vietnamese culture "catching a cold" or fever is often referred to as trúng gió, "to catch wind". The origin of this term is the Shang Han Lun, a c. 220 CE Chinese Medical text on cold induced disease - like most Asian countries China's medical sciences were a profound influence in Vietnam, especially between the 5th and 7th Centuries CE. C?o gió is an extremely common remedy in Vietnam and for expatriate Vietnamese.
It is also used in Indonesia, and in Java it is known as kerikan (lit., "scraping technique") or kerokan, and it is very widely used, as a form of folk medicine, upon members of individual households.
Video Gua sha
Technique
Gua sha involves repeated pressured strokes over lubricated skin with a smooth edged instrument. Skin is typically lubricated with massage oil and commonly a ceramic Chinese soup spoon was used, or a well worn coin, even honed animal bones, water buffalo horn, or jade. A simple metal cap with a rounded edge is commonly used.
In cases of fatigue from heavy work, a piece of ginger root soaked in rice wine is sometimes used to rub down the spine from top to bottom.
The smooth edge is placed against the oiled skin surface, pressed down firmly, and then moved down the muscles--hence the term tribo-effleurage (i.e., friction-stroking)--or along the pathway of the acupuncture meridians, along the surface of the skin, with each stroke being about 4-6 inches long.
Practitioners tend to follow the tradition they were taught to obtain sha: typically using either gua sha or fire cupping. The techniques are sometimes used together. In China, they are widely available from national and public hospitals to private massage shops, because of local people's deep trust to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and reasonable price, they are very popular.
Maps Gua sha
Cross-cultural confusion with physical abuse
A slightly different form of gua sha using the edges of coins rather than porcelain items is practiced as a folk medicine technique. Individuals practice this "coining" amongst their own family members in many Asian cultures, such as Vietnam (where the coin scraping, or "coining" is known as "c?o gió", 'scraping for wind'), in Cambodia, and in their respective immigrant communities abroad. For example, health care practitioners in hospitals in Orange County, California, routinely see evidence of coining among hospitalized Vietnamese patients.
In 1980, it was found that many Vietnamese still distrusted U.S. medical practitioners in part due to fear of being accused of child abuse.
"This practice has been misidentified as child abuse in case reports," despite the intention of the parents. However, Physicians are required by law to report injuries from remedies such as "coining" to the appropriate agency (e.g., state child-protective service or state adult-protective service), regardless of intention.
Lack of evidence-based practice and safety concerns
As with other complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices, the effectiveness of gua sha is not supported by conclusive research. Current scientific evidence is insufficient to show that gua sha is effective in pain management. Some studies lacking proper controls have found that gua sha has beneficial short-term effects in patients with chronic neck pain, but further study is needed. An anecdotal study where gua sha was performed during several days in rats shows that scrapping the skin until blood extravasation occurs increases the expression of the enzyme Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) consistent with increased oxidative stress and a deficiency in the resolution of inflammation
The use of safety standards and proper protocols is still limited and requires further development. There was a case report of acute epiglottitis due to gua sha treatment on the neck for throat pain. The continuously applied pressure from gua sha could have damaged the underlying soft tissue, resulting in acute swelling and difficulty breathing. Furthermore, the use of gua-sha along other CAMs was associated with a lower quality of life in patients with rhinitis.
The use of hospital standards of sterilization and personal protective equipment is important to prevent contamination of infectious pathogens. Although no cases of blood-borne pathogens have been reported, the risk of transmission of blood cells and fluids cannot be ruled out. Protective measurements against infectious agents that are recommended include the single use of disposable devices, sterilization of re-used equipment and glove use. Lubricants should be poured out into cups and they are to be disposed after each use. Devices that cannot be adequately sterilized such as horn and bone are not recommended.
In popular culture
The 2001 movie The Gua Sha Treatment (Chinese: ??; pinyin: gu? sh?) was made in Hong Kong showing gua sha among other things. The movie starred Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Jiang Wenli, and Zhu Xu. It can also be seen in the 1995 Vietnamese movie Cyclo.
See also
- Acupuncture
- Graston Technique
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Tui na
- Strigil
Notes
References
- Huard, P. & Wong, M. (Smith, D.N. trans.), Oriental Methods of Mental and Physical Fitness: The Complete Book of Meditation, Kinesitherapy, and Martial Arts in China, India, and Japan, Funk & Wagnalls, (New York), 1977. ISBN 0-308-10271-1
- Nielsen, A., Gua Sha: Traditional Technique for Modern Practice, Churchill Livingstone, (Edinburgh/New York), 1995. ISBN 0-443-05181-X
- Nielsen, A., "Gua Sha. Step-by-Step: A Visual Guide to a Traditional Technique for Modern Medicine" (teaching video)Verlag fuer Ganzheitliche Medizin, Koetzing, Germany. 2002. ISBN 3-927344-63-X
- Yeatman, GW; Dang, VV (1980). "Cao gio (coin rubbing): Vietnamese attitudes toward health care". JAMA. 244: 2748-2749. doi:10.1001/jama.244.24.2748.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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