As a traditional Chinese medical therapy, gua sha utilizes acupoints to achieve health benefits in disease prevention and treatment. Particularly as spring brings warming weather and increased internal dampness, gua sha effectively clears damp-heat. Below, we introduce TCM gua sha techniques to eliminate internal damp-heat.
Traditional Chinese Scraping Therapy to Eliminate Internal Damp-Heat
Blood Sea Point (SP10): Helps alleviate irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, abdominal distension due to qi stagnation, eczema, skin itching, and anemia.
Location: With knee bent, locate two cun (approximately 5 cm) above the medial end of the patella on the inner thigh, at the prominence of the medial head of the quadriceps muscle. When sitting with leg extended straight, a depression appears on the inner knee; the Xuehai point is at the top of the raised muscle above this depression.
Fenglong Point: Traditional Chinese Medicine holds that dampness inevitably generates phlegm. This point helps transform phlegm-dampness and clear mental confusion, making it particularly suitable for those experiencing heightened dampness pathogens in early autumn. It may help alleviate chest and abdominal pain, vomiting, constipation, dizziness, restlessness, facial swelling, and limb edema induced by phlegm-dampness.
Location: On the anterior lateral aspect of the lower leg, 8 cun above the tip of the lateral malleolus, two finger-widths lateral to the anterior border of the tibia.
Yinlingquan (SP9): Internal dampness makes one susceptible to external dampness. To prevent excessive internal dampness, it must be both expelled externally and transformed internally. Gua Sha at Yinlingquan helps transform internal dampness, clears damp-heat, strengthens the spleen and regulates qi, benefits the kidneys and regulates menstruation, and unblocks meridians. It assists in relieving abdominal distension, diarrhea, edema, and knee pain.
Location Method: In a seated or supine position, Yinlingquan is located on the medial aspect of the lower leg. It sits in the depression posterior and inferior to the medial tibial condyle, between the posterior border of the tibia and the gastrocnemius muscle, at the origin of the soleus muscle.
Zhongwan (CV12): This point effectively alleviates abdominal distension, nausea, indigestion, diarrhea, and constipation caused by summer heat and dampness. It also provides significant relief for autumn dryness-induced insomnia.
Location Method: Located on the midline of the upper abdomen, 4 cun above the navel. To locate while supine, find the midpoint of the line connecting the lower end of the sternum and the navel.
Diji Point: Possesses potent antispasmodic, analgesic, qi-moving, and blood-activating effects. It can be used to assist in relieving abdominal pain, diarrhea, edema, irregular menstruation, and dysmenorrhea.
Location: Situated on the medial aspect of the lower leg, 3 cun directly below Yinlingquan (SP9), along the line connecting the medial malleolus and Yinlingquan, at the posterior border of the medial tibia.
Tianshu (ST25): While expelling stagnant pathogens, it's crucial to provide an exit for them. Gua Sha at this point accelerates the elimination of dampness and toxins through feces, alleviating constipation, abdominal distension, diarrhea, umbilical pain, indigestion, nausea, and vomiting.
Location:To locate this point, adopt a supine position. Tianshu is situated in the central abdomen, two cun lateral to the umbilicus. Understanding Gua Sha Steps When performing Gua Sha at home, selecting a quality scraping tool is essential. Equally important is adhering to the proper technique to effectively release toxins and target the correct meridians. 1.Apply gua sha oil to the affected area (pain site) or along the meridian pathways.
2. Use the gua sha tool to scrape sequentially in the direction of meridian flow (from top to bottom, from inside to outside), following blood circulation patterns to loosen tendons, activate blood flow, and unblock meridians. (For face and chest: inside to outside; for hands, feet, head, and back: top to bottom).
3. Areas with pathogenic factors may exhibit mild redness or scattered red dots on the surface. More severe conditions may show clusters of lumps or even dark blue-black pustules. Significant dark blue-black clusters and the first three symptoms mentioned will cause pain during scraping. If no pathology is present, no reaction or pain will be felt.
4. The second scraping session should be performed only after the affected area is pain-free (typically 3-7 days, varying by individual). Continue scraping until the area is clear and smooth with no lumps remaining, at which point the condition will naturally resolve.