How to use the ox horn scraping board

Gua Sha is a traditional Chinese medicine health therapy that has the functions of dredging meridians, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, dispelling cold and dampness, and promoting blood circulation. Gua Sha is mainly achieved by repeatedly scraping various parts of the body with scraping tools and corresponding techniques. However, there are many scraping tools, and different scraping tools will have different effects. So, how are scraping tools generally used?

How to use the scraping board

Gua Sha boards have thick sides, thin sides, and edges. When treating diseases, the thin side is often used to scrape the skin; when using the large side for health care, the sharp edges are often used to scrape the skin when using the sharp edges to scrape the skin near the Tianjie points or when acupoints need to be pressed. During the operation, you must master the "three degrees and one direction" to promote the appearance of sha, shorten the stimulation time, control the stimulation intensity, and reduce the feeling of local pain.

1. Angle

It refers to the angle formed by the scraping board and the skin. When the scraping board is perpendicular to the skin, the stimulation to the skin is the strongest, it is easiest to scrape out sha, and it is also more likely to cause pain. When the angle between the scraping board and the skin is less than 90°, it is not as easy to scrape out sha as when scraping perpendicular to the skin, and it is not as painful as scraping vertically. Generally, keep the angle at 60°.

How to use the scraping board and control the angle and strength

2. Strength

Refers to the force of using a scraping board. The greater the force used, the easier it is for sha to appear, and the more sensitive the patient is; the lighter the force used, the shallower the scraping board cuts into the skin, the less likely it is for sha to appear, and the less sensitive the patient is. Using too much force may cause local skin ulceration, while using too little force will not achieve the therapeutic effect.

Therefore, the requirement for strength is "heavy but not stiff, light but not floating".

3. Speed

It refers to the speed at which the skin is scraped. The faster the scraping speed, the shallower the depth of the scraping board into the skin, and the slower the sha appears; conversely, the slower the scraping speed, the higher the sensitivity, and the faster the sha appears. When using a scraping board, the key to the technique is to master and control the strength and speed.

4. Direction

It refers to the direction of the force acting on the scraping board. When the force comes from the back of the scraping board and the pushing force is used, the skin will be strongly stimulated and it is easier to produce sha; when the force comes from the front of the scraping board and the pulling force is used, it is not easy to produce sha, but the patient will feel more comfortable.

How to choose a scraping board

1. Skin care and beauty: Jade scraping board

Chinese medicine experts said that if someone has a bad complexion and wants to use scraping to achieve skin care, moisturizing and other beauty effects, it is recommended to use a jade scraping board. When doing scraping for beauty and health, try to use scraping lotion with beauty effects as a lubricant.

2. Relaxing the meridians and activating blood circulation: Bianstone scraping board

For people who suffer from irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, lower abdominal distension and pain, and chest tightness, who want to achieve the effects of scraping to relax the meridians, activate blood circulation, and relieve pain, it is recommended to use a Bianstone scraping board and use a scraping blood-activating agent as a lubricant when scraping. This is because the material of Bianstone contains a variety of trace elements that are beneficial to the human body. The friction with the human body can produce a large number of ultrasonic pulses, which have the effects of dredging meridians, warming and assisting yang energy, removing blood stasis and relieving pain, expelling cold and dampness, calming the nerves and relieving shock.

3. Clearing away heat and detoxifying: Buffalo horn scraping board

People who suffer from dry throat, constipation, high fever, dry mouth, yellow urine, etc., who want to achieve the effects of clearing away heat and detoxifying, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis through scraping, can use a buffalo horn scraping board and scraping oil as a lubricant. This is because buffalo horn is a substitute for rhino horn in traditional Chinese medicine. It is cold in nature, bitter and salty in taste, and has the therapeutic effects of clearing heat, cooling blood, and detoxifying.

During the operation, hold the scraping board, dip it in lubricant, and scrape the area to be scraped on the patient's body surface evenly and forcefully in a certain direction. Generally, wrist strength is used, and the scraping force is adjusted according to the patient's condition and reaction, until sha marks appear under the skin.

Introducing the basic techniques of scraping

1. Scraper holding method: Hold the scraper with your hand, with the thick side of the scraper facing your palm during treatment, and the thin side of the scraper facing your palm during health care.

2. Scraping direction: Scrape the neck, back, abdomen, upper limbs and lower limbs from top to bottom and from inside to outside.

3. Supplementary scraping and purgative scraping: Generally speaking, scraping along the course of the meridians is called supplementary scraping, and scraping against the course of the meridians is called purgative scraping.

4. Scraping time: When scraping with the draining scraping or the flat-supplementing and flat-draining technique, each part should generally be scraped for 3-5 minutes; when scraping with the supplementing scraping technique, each part should be scraped for 5-10 minutes. There is no strict time limit for health scraping, and the principle is to feel satisfied and comfortable.

Precautions for Gua Sha

1. During scraping treatment, you should pay attention to keeping the room warm, especially avoid cold and drafts in winter. When scraping in summer, avoid direct exposure of fans to the scraping area.

2. Avoid taking a cold shower within 30 minutes after scraping.

3. Before the sha spots on the area treated with scraping last time have disappeared, it is not advisable to scrape the same area again to produce sha. The next scraping session should be done after an interval of 3-6 days, until the sha on the skin disappears.

4. It is best to drink a cup of warm water (preferably light sugar and salt water) after scraping and rest for 15-20 minutes.