This is the first English language book on the ancient therapeutic technique ' Gua Sha'. It is a technique commonly used in Asia & Southeast Asia by TCM practitioners, Chinese families & individuals who know & use it as part of their 'health culture'. In Gua Sha, the skin is pressured in strokes i.e. scraped (but not broken) by a blunt edge (Chinese families used a spoon). This, in Western terms, raises extravasated blood & metabolic waste which collects in muscle tissue, & encourages its departure. Gua Sha is often used to counteract muscle strain through athletic injury, back pain, & conditions beyond muscle injury alone. The result, visually, is livid discolouration of the skin which subsides in a few days, considerably faster than a bruise. For this reason practitioners in the West have been afraid of using it. However it can be a very useful technique to know how to use, & will enhance the skills of any practitioner using it while giving them another treatment method to help increase theirclinical skills. This book brings the technique alive for Western practitioners, with clear discussion of how to do it
- including correct technique, appropriate application, & difficulties to bear in mind
- & when to use it, & superb colour illustrations & specially commissioned line drawings to demonstrate the technique. The author is an expert practitioner of ' Gua Sha'.