Frequently asked questions – gua sha

Gua sha can be performed almost anywhere on the body, but is usually used on the back, neck, arms, chest, abdomen, buttocks, and limbs. Gua sha can also be applied to the joints, but not without first treating the places in the joint area.

The treated area is lubricated with oil or a special lotion. The area to be treated is stroked in one direction with a round tool until the petechiae are completely raised. You will learn from your Traditional Medicine therapist how to apply Gua Sha accurately and above all safely, for whom and when to use it.

In China, therapists use thick oils, such as peanut oil, on a daily basis. For 50 years, the popular Vick Vapo Rup oil was used in children due to its popularity and smell, but due to the change in composition to petroleum derivatives, its use was abandoned. Currently, generally available massage olives are used, diluted in appropriate proportions with herbs, or lubricating oils produced specially for this purpose by various companies. It is also important to cool the body down after the treatment, which is done with water with the addition of mineral salts.

In the old days, just anything from a soup spoon, a large coin, a piece of buffalo horn, parts of large animals’ hooves to jade stones, were used. Nowadays, there are professional devices for performing such procedures, where stones are thrown out immediately after the therapy without the risk of transmitting pathogens to another patient. It is very good for a person to obtain such equipment on his own before the treatments, and thus there will be no need to constantly purchase new devices for each treatment.

The reaction after the procedure is called Sha. A good traditional Chinese medicine therapist can use it to diagnose the health condition as well as to predict future diseases and negative tendencies in the body. Before the first treatment, a Sha test is performed, which consists in applying pressure to specific points and observing changes in speed, color and the disappearance of a delicate reaction. On this basis, the strength to be used for the procedure and the treatment plan are determined. Important in assessing health in Gua Sha is the tendency, variability, location and pattern of the problem we have faced.

If we are dealing with a generally healthy patient, the ecchymosis after the procedure, i.e. Sha, should disappear within 2-4 days. If the time is longer and the ecchymosis does not subside by 7 days, it is a direct indication of poor blood circulation in the area. It is then necessary to determine whether the reason is blood deficiency or, as Chinese doctors believe, Qi or Yang deficiency in certain energy channels or, worst of all, ultimately poor quality of internal organs according to the meridian points underlying them.

In most cases, the patient experiences an immediate improvement in health, especially in terms of pain or the feeling of limited range of motion – mobility. In Traditional Medicine, Gua Sha moves blocked Qi and stagnant blood, releasing energy and activating the tissues by supplying them with blood and oxygenating them, simultaneously increasing local sweating and carrying lymph and skin fluids.

Modern research has confirmed that Gua sha reduces pain and inflammation while stimulating the body’s protective immune response that can persist for several days after treatment. Gua sha is a valuable remedy for musculoskeletal problems as well as internal organs, including inflammation of the respiratory tract and liver.

Gua sha is safe when performed by a properly trained person and it is a serious weapon in the fight against diseases mainly related to muscle, bone, skeletal and post-accident pain. Knowing when to use Gua Sha and what to expect from treatment is as important as good technique. Since Gua sha lifts cells from the blood vessel, and some of them may come out of the skin (ecchymosis), a Gua sha practitioner must follow safety guidelines to eliminate the risk of exposure to blood borne pathogens.

It is also recommended that the patient himself monitors his activity after the procedure and gives up any physical activity – in a word, rest. After treatment on the day of Gua Sha surgery: no drugs, alcohol, sex, fasting, feasting, or hard work, including exercise, for the rest of the day. In other words: relax, gentle, middle way, relax; let the treatment work.

Of course. It is not difficult. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the numerous instructional videos, e.g. Gua Sha massage on the face, which every woman can perform on her own or with the help of a friend or family member. In therapeutic therapies, however, I recommend using professional therapists of Traditional Medicine, with appropriate experience and mainly practical skills. Incompetent use of Gua Sha can also hurt yourself.

A single Gua Sha face treatment costs PLN 80 (if you buy 10 treatments in advance, the price drops to PLN 70 per treatment). The therapeutic price of Gua Sha is PLN 120 per treatment (if you buy 10 treatments in advance, the price drops to PLN 110 per treatment). Usually 3-5 treatments are enough. Other treatments should be treated as reminder treatments, which are designed to consolidate the effect of the therapy. The price list of all treatments can be found here: price list .

Generally, each subsequent treatment is performed after the reactions of the previous treatment have completely subsided, but not more often than every 3rd day.

It is better to perform both facial and Gua Sha treatments at the end of the day. As we already know from ours article After Gua Sha therapy, we will spend the rest of the day resting well and not doing activities that require the use of large amounts of physical force.

Wherever we deal with muscle pain, e.g. in competitive sports as a therapy supporting acupuncture and herbal medicine or as independent treatments improving local blood supply to the body. Scientific research clearly shows the effectiveness of these methods, provided that they are used by professionals.

Gua Sha on the face can be used daily, and therapeutic gua sha can be reapplied only after the reactions after the previous treatment have ceased.

Pustules are generally not a contraindication to the procedure, but if they protrude significantly beyond the outline of the skin, the therapist should refrain from massaging these areas. As for the abscess and skin problems of this type, it is best for a dermatologist to speak out and then visit our office. All skin discontinuities are a contraindication to the gua sha treatment. Therapy should only be started after these symptoms have ceased.

Yes and no. If we want to place the bubbles on the body surface with guasha that has not been massaged before, then yes. If we want to combine both treatments into one, then no. The synergistic effects of these two treatments may be too strong for a typical patient. Therefore, it is recommended to make an interval of one day between treatments. In addition, it should be remembered that when placing glass bulbs, special attention must be paid to the area of the heart, large blood vessels, around the eyes, ears, throat, nose and in pregnant women. These places can make the patient feel more unwell and signal more serious ailments.

Everything depends on the cause of the dysfunction of the locomotor system. If the therapist recommends such treatments, there are indications to improve the current state of health. The effects of gua sha are visible immediately after the procedure. Therefore, it is worth trying this method as an alternative.

You can, but it requires more knowledge. You need to establish the basis of the problem and make a diagnosis. If there are bags under the eyes along with dark circles under the eyes, I would recommend contacting a specialist to eliminate other contraindications. In TCM, it is believed that the cause of dark circles under the eyes is blood, or rather its stagnation. This condition is often called blood stagnation. The accompanying clinical symptoms are mainly: dark skin of the face, blue lips, mainly the lower lip, weak nail plate, dark menstrual blood with blood clots, general pain in the lower abdomen or focal pain. A blue or slightly purple tongue is common in TCM tongue examination. In TCM examination by pulse: the pulse is stringy, striking (strong, sudden), firm (translated from Chinese). In the initial treatments, I would recommend the use of acupuncture: Bl 17, Bl 18, Bl 20, Sp 6, Sp 10. Moksa or guasha, of course, also in the following points: Sp 9, St 40, moksa especially on St 36. In the treatment of similar ailments, it is necessary to act comprehensively, and therefore also to change eating habits. Eat more: animal liver, eggs, carrots, apricots, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, Chinese black mushrooms, Chinese dates. The treatment should last at least 6 months, of which 20-30 guasha, acupressure, lymphatic massage and acupuncture treatments should take place throughout the cycle. You can make an appointment for a professional guasha treatment at www.guasha.warszawa.pl. – we recommend!

Yes. If the child is calm and there are no other contraindications for the procedure, e.g. aggression, unpredictable behavior, etc.

It all depends on the accident and the damage the accident caused to your body. First, a full set of tests should be performed to diagnose the problem of your ailments. You should have carefully written recommendations on your discharge certificate. If it is care from primary care, it would be advisable to report to us with a hospital discharge, medical documentation and medical history. Only then will we be able to say more in your case. In the treatment of paresis, it is worth considering the proper description of the sensations associated with this ailment before the visit, i.e. where does it hurt, when, for how long, how does the pain manifest, is it constant, increasing, stinging, and in what places and intensity? Are there feelings of numbness and how strong? Such seemingly unimportant things for a Western physician in traditional medicine are very important. In the case of paresis of the right limb, there are often pains radiating from other parts of the body, e.g. from the face or head, sometimes from the feet or abdomen, there are problems with blood supply to the surface and numbness of the limbs, etc. Treatment of similar ailments if they have been present for a long time (more than 12 months) it is heavy but not impossible. It requires high systematicity and regularity in treatments. Therapeutic guasha, if recommended, is at least 2 treatments a week. Depending on how the skin reacts to the therapy, it may be less frequent at the beginning (for reactions / ecchymosis). The full cycle should include integrated treatment. If necessary, acupuncture, glass cups and therapeutic moxa.

Yes. KMI manual therapy (myofascial therapy) is the main domain of the influence of Gua Sha therapy on the body. The main goal of the therapy is to analyze bad habits in the functioning of the motor organs and the pains they cause in the body. Gua Sha resets the body’s standard habits and rebuilds lost motor connections. The organism learns to function on its own and returns to its original mobility. KMI therapy aims to reset the body’s memory so that it can return to its proper functioning patterns and regain freedom of movement. It is very important in Gua Sha fascia therapy to use the right tools and the experience of the therapist is the key to recovery. KMI Gua Sha therapy is not a single procedure and requires multiple repetitions.

You can feel a definite change from just one Gua Sha treatment. Gua Sha treatments are supposed to help right away. The therapeutic effects of Gua Sha last up to several hours after the procedure, and vascular changes usually disappear up to 48 hours. If the reactions do not subside within 48 hours after Gua Sha, it indicates serious diseases that may occur in the body and the actual health of the skin, muscles, tendons, etc. Each Gus Sha therapist determines his work units, the so-called series in which he implements specific Gua Sha techniques. They should not be too long, but you should also lead the body to certain “effects”, the so-called “Petechiae” – blood from capillary vessels gets to the skin, which moisturizes, oxygenates and tones it, while treating disease areas. The most important thing in Gua Sha treatments is the regularity and repeatability of techniques for specific disease entities. Thus, the therapist may recommend up to 30 treatments spread over time.

It is allowed to perform Gua Sha treatments in this case, but it should be justified by a specialist, e.g. sports medicine, pre-start stage fright, high stress or supporting the treatment of paresis, muscle atrophy or lack of sensation. As a rule, however, the next Gua Sha treatment should be performed after the reactions have completely disappeared.