The difference between cupping and scraping

Cupping and scraping are two very good ways to help us relax muscles and promote blood circulation. However, cupping may cause us great pain, while scraping is different. It can help us achieve a painless healing effect and reduce the chance of rheumatic orthopedic diseases. Let's briefly describe the differences between cupping and scraping.

Gua Sha is a method of treating diseases by repeatedly scraping and rubbing a certain part of the patient's skin with a scraping board dipped in scraping oil.

The principle of scraping: It is based on the twelve meridians and eight extraordinary meridians of traditional Chinese medicine, and follows the principle of "treating the symptoms in an emergency". It uses techniques to strongly stimulate the meridians, causing the local skin to become red and congested, thereby playing a role in awakening the mind, rescuing the patient from syncope, detoxifying and eliminating evil, clearing away heat and relieving exterior symptoms, promoting qi and relieving pain, and strengthening the spleen and stomach.

Tools and positions: The scraping board is made of buffalo horn, rectangular in shape, with blunt edges. For scraping the back, the patient should lie prone and for scraping the shoulders, the patient should sit upright. Purple bleeding spots will appear after scraping.

Indications: cold, fever, heat stroke, headache, gastrointestinal disease, stiff neck, periarthritis of shoulder, lumbar muscle strain, muscle cramps, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.

Cupping: Cupping therapy is a method commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat diseases. This therapy can expel cold and dampness, dredge meridians, remove stagnation, promote qi and blood circulation, reduce swelling and relieve pain, remove toxins and reduce heat. It has the function of adjusting the body's yin and yang balance, relieving fatigue, and strengthening the physical fitness, thereby achieving the purpose of strengthening the body and eliminating evil and curing diseases. Therefore, many diseases can be treated by cupping.

There are many kinds of tools used in cupping therapy - cups, including glass jars, ceramic jars, bamboo jars, rubber jars, etc. Even canning bottles at home can be used for cupping. Glass jars, ceramic jars and bamboo jars are commonly used in clinical practice. Rubber jars are more commonly used in households because they are easy to use and can be sucked by hand. No matter whether you know medicine or not, it is very easy to master. Just know where it hurts and pull it out. But it does not use fire, which is an important link, and the effect is worse, so hospitals generally do not use this method. Glass jars are smooth and transparent, and you can observe skin congestion, bruises, blistering, and bleeding during bloodletting inside the jar through the glass, so they are most commonly used in clinical practice.

Understanding the differences between cupping and scraping can help us maximize their benefits and gain greater benefits for ourselves. Doing more cupping and scraping exercises can also effectively help us relieve our own headaches and fevers and improve our own immunity.