Gua Sha is a traditional Chinese medical treatment in which the skin is scraped with a plastic or wooden spoon to produce light bruising. Practitioners believe gua sha releases unhealthy elements from injured areas and stimulates blood flow and healing.
The technique involves repeated pressured strokes over lubricated skin with a smooth edged instrument. Fine capillaries (tiny blood vessels) start to give off the “sha” or petechiae. This is a good thing. What it does is to release toxins from the blood and greatly stimulate circulation in the area. It also has “an anti-inflammatory and immune protective effect that persists for days following a single Gua sha treatment. It can provide almost instantaneous relief from pain and congestion as well as freeing up a greater range of movement in joints and ligaments. Bruising on the skin from this practice are actually quite painless, and generally fade in a week’s time.
Streams of Grace Acupuncture 