{"title":"Gua sha therapy in the management of musculoskeletal pathology: a narrative review","authors":"D. Hartnett","doi":"10.1080/10833196.2021.2011581","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"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.","PeriodicalId":46541,"journal":{"name":"Physical Therapy Reviews","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2021-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Physical Therapy Reviews","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10833196.2021.2011581","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"REHABILITATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
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.
期刊介绍:
Physical Therapy Reviews is an international journal which aims to publish contemporary reviews, discussion papers and editorials within physical therapy, and in those basic and clinical sciences which are the basis of physical therapy. The journal is aimed at all those involved in research, teaching and practice within the area of physical therapy. Reviews (both descriptive and systematic) are invited in the following areas, which reflect the breadth and diversity of practice within physical therapy: •neurological rehabilitation •movement and exercise •orthopaedics and rheumatology •manual therapy and massage •sports medicine •measurement •chest physiotherapy •electrotherapeutics •obstetrics and gynaecology •complementary therapies •professional issues •musculoskeletal rehabilitation