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

Abstract

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.