What is the method of neck scraping?

Gua Sha is a very common method of health care in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Usually the scraping area is the back, but sometimes the neck is also scraped. It is mainly used to treat dizziness caused by colds, dampness, cough and physical weakness. Scraping can also be performed after a stiff neck, which can also treat neck discomfort. Moreover, scraping can be performed by yourself at home, but many people do not know how to do it. Next, we will introduce the method of scraping the neck.

1. Symptoms

The clinical manifestations of Qi stagnation and blood stasis type stiff neck are neck pain in the morning, difficulty in movement, aggravated pain on the affected side during movement, head tilt to the affected side, and tongue and pulse are normal. The wind-cold external attack type is manifested by neck pain, limited head turning, accompanied by aversion to wind, slight fever, headache and other external symptoms, pale tongue, and thin white fur.

(II) Governing Law

(1) Acupoint selection: Dazhui, Tianzhu, Jianwaishu, Xuanzhong, Houxi, Lieque, and Ashi points.

(2) Positioning:

Dazhui: The depression below the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra.

Tianzhu: 0.5 inches above the middle of the posterior hairline, 1.3 inches lateral to the depression at the outer edge of the trapezius muscle.

Jianwaishu: On the back, 3 inches lateral to the spinous process of the first thoracic vertebra.

Xuan Zhong: On the outer side of the calf, 3 inches above the tip of the lateral malleolus, on the anterior edge of the fibula.

Houxi: Make a fist slightly, and locate the red and white flesh junction of the distal palmar transverse crease on the posterior and ulnar side of the fifth metacarpophalangeal joint.

Lieque: Above the radial styloid process, 1.5 inches above the transverse wrist crease, between the brachioradialis muscle and the abductor pollicis longus tendon.

(3) Scraping order

First scrape the Dazhui, Tianzhu and Jianwaishu points on the shoulders and neck, then scrape the Houxi and Lieque points on the hands and arms, and finally scrape the Xuanzhong points on the lower limbs.

(4) Scraping method

Purgation method. Apply appropriate amount of scraping oil on the area where scraping is required. First scrape the Dazhui point at the back of the neck from top to bottom. Be gentle and don't use too much force. You can use the edge of a scraper to scrape. Then scrape the Tianzhu point to the Jianwaishu point, and scrape both sides gently. Do not use too much force. You can use the edge of the scraper to scrape. Then scrape the Houxi and Lieque points on the hands and arms of the upper limbs, using heavy force to produce sha. Finally, scrape the Xuan Zhong point on the outside of the lower limb, scrape it again 30 times, until sha appears.

The article introduces some methods of scraping the neck. If patients want to learn scraping by themselves, they can try it according to the instructions in the article. However, if the scraping area is on the neck, it is best to let someone else do it, as it is difficult for you to control the strength of the scraping and find the exact location of the acupoints. But if the scraping area is on the hands, you can do it yourself.