Gua sha research and the language of integrative medicine

Summary 

This article is based on research findings published by Nielsen et al. [2007a. The effect of ‘Gua sha’ treatment on the microcirculation of surface tissue: a pilot study in healthy subjects. EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing 3, 456–466]. The abstract was accepted for poster session at the conference on fascia (www.fascia2007.com) and appears in the conference text Fascia Research [Nielsen, A., Knoblauch, N., Dobos, G., Michalsen, A., Kaptchuk, T., 2007b. The effect of ‘Gua sha’ treatment on the microcirculation of surface tissue: a pilot study in healthy subjects. In: Findley, T.W., Schleip, R. (Eds.), Fascia Research: Basic Science and Implications for Conventional and Complementary Health Care. Elsevier, Munich, Germany, pp. 249–250]. Our Gua sha perfusion study, the abstract of which is reprinted in Box 1, was the first investigation into the physiology of Gua sha, a technique of traditional East Asian medicine used to treat conditions that have features of blood stasis, pain, and/or inflammation. Issues raised by our study are discussed here such as the significance of the terms used in Western medical literature to describe traditional indigenous therapies like Gua sha and the implication of our findings not only for future research but toward a shift in how the integrative medical community signifies its work.

Keywords: Gua sha, Cao gio, Coining, Traditional East Asian medicine, Acupuncture, Integrative medicine, Microcirculation, Pain relief