Gua sha therapy in the management of musculoskeletal pathology: a narrative review

Abstract

Gua sha is a traditional East Asian treatment that involves press-stroking with a rigid instrument along muscular lines with the intent of generating petechiae, helping to alleviate a wide range of pathologies. Despite regular practice in some communities and a rebranding as instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization in Western physiotherapy and chiropractic medicine, there remains a paucity of scientific literature on the practice. This narrative reviews aims to provide an overview on gua sha and similar scraping practices, including the proposed physiological mechanism behind its purported benefits, while examining the literature for validated studies of the efficacy of gua sha. At present, there is weak evidence supporting the benefits of the therapy in isolation, with potential value as an additional treatment modality complementing conventional manual therapies.

Keywords:

• Gua sha
• scraping
• manual therapy
• complementary and alternative medicine

Disclosure statement

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Davis A. Hartnett

Davis A. Hartnett is an MD-candidate at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, with a bachelor of science degree in biology from Brown University. His previous research has examined the intersection of orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, and physical therapy, with published reviews of injury management in both recreational athletes and National Football League players, as well as research examining trends in medical malpractice related to manual therapies.