Gua Sha
I use this treatment for pain and stagnation around the joints, to help breakup scar tissue and calcium deposits, and to help move lymph. I find it to be especially helpful for tension headaches with neck and shoulder pain, and for calcium deposits in the hands and feet. You can see a short video on joint and arthritis pain here. And here you can see a short video on using gua sha for headache and migraine.
While there are quite a few fancy guy sha tools out there don’t let this discourage you. The back of a spoon does the job just as well as any hand carved jade show piece!
You only need a few things:
a gua sha tool or a spoon with soft edges.
a liniment and / or an oil (see below for more on this)
How to:
always apply liniment first. liniment is usually a high alcohol plant extract. (NEVER drink liniment as it may be made with isopropyl alcohol which is poisonous if drunk and the herbal ingredients would likely be irritating to the gut. ) The alcohol in the the preparation helps drive the medicine into your skin. You can learn about making your own herbal liniments here, and you can purchase herbal liniments here.
apply a bit of oil. What oil you may ask? Well, really just about anything works here. It may be olive oil or coconut oil from your kitchen, or a fancy massage oil, or anything in between! You can learn about making your own herbal oils here and you can purchase herbal oils here.
Working a gut sha tool like a master takes time and learning. But no is asking you to be a master here, so don’t get overwhelmed. See below for issue specific use.
For joint pain :
Just use the edge of the tool to work around the site. Rubbing to break us stagnation around knuckles and joints, and using a steady “flick” movement to move the lymph towards the heart. Use medium pressure and take it easy the first time. You may see a bit of bruising or redness after the fact. This doesn’t mean you’ve worked too hard, but do check in with yourself about needing to be more gentle in future. You can see a short video here
Breaking up calcium deposits and scar tissue takes a little time and you won’t feel results immediate. A dedicated approach means working the area several days a week for a month or more, and then it will take another month or more to fully feel the benefits.
However, it really is worth it. And what else are you up to with your hands while you watch tv?
For tension headache, neck and shoulder pain First massage above and under your clavicles for a moment. You will start where your neck meets your shoulders and progressively work up your neck. Use the broad flat edge your gut sha tool and medium pressure to assertively “flick” towards the heart.
In the background:
Moving stagnation out of the body only works if you are keeping things running. This is a remedy that takes a lot of hydration to work it’s best. It is also helpful to consider if this injury need cold or heat? Does it need both?