Gua sha: A Traditional Technique for Modern Practice

‘Sometimes called coining, spooning or scraping, Gua sha is defined as instrument-assisted unidirectional press stroking of a lubricated area of the body surface that intentionally creates ‘transitory therapeutic petechiae’ representing extravasation of blood in the subcutis.’

Gua sha has been used for centuries in Asia, in Asian immigrant communities and by acupuncturists and practitioners of traditional East Asian medicine worldwide. With the expansion of traditional East Asian medicine,...