Benutzer:Kujaw/Gua Sha

Gua Sha (刮痧), wörtlich "nach Cholera schaben", ist eine Behandlung, die oft von Anwendern der Traditionellen Chinesischen Medizin verwendet wird. Im fernen Osten ist Gua Sha als Heilmethode der Volksheilkunde weit verbreitet, bei der mit einer abgerundeten Kante eines Porzellanlöffels, einer Münze o.ä. mehrmals über einen Bereich der Haut geschabt wird, bis eine deutliche Verfärbung und Blutungen unter Haut auftreten.

Gua Sha entspricht auf vietnamesisch cao gio und bedeutet "windschaben" und ist ein sehr häufig angewendetes Heilmittel unter Vietnamesen. Cao gio wird von Vietnamesen gegen Erkältung und Fieber angewendet, wobei es auch oft trúng gió "windfangen" genannt wird.

Gua Sha ist auch in Indonesien als traditionelle javanesische Technik der Volksheilkunde weit verbreitet und bekannt als kerikan (wörtlich "Schabetechnik") oder kerok, was von den meisten Indonesiern als "den Wind durch Schaben herausholen" verstanden wird.

Gua Sha: Die Volkstechnik

In describing the Gua Sha techniques as a form of "folk" medicine, the term "folk" is not being used in any pejorative sense. It is used to emphasize:

• the extremely widespread domestic use of the technique (thus, used by the "folk") as a method of first-contact intervention,
• that complex medical diagnosis is not required (and, thus, any decision to use or not use Gua Sha can be reliably made by the "folk"), and
• the overall safety of the technique (meaning that it is safe for the "folk" to use).

Notwithstanding this, the Gua Sha technique is just as important a part of the legitimate practice of the specialist practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine as is the use of fire cupping; and it is a highly reputable technique that is applied just as much by these highly trained experts as it is applied by the "folk" users.

As with many of the "folk" methods that are used domestically as a form of first intervention, the use of Gua Sha often precludes any need for any more complex medical treatment; and, because its use means that further medical treatment is unnecessary, the technique, although extremely widespread, is often hidden from view, and its role as a very significant and very important participant in the overall health care of a community may not be immediately apparent.

Therefore, in the case of Gua Sha, the term "folk" medicine should not be thought of as separate from the practice of more complex Traditional Chinese Medicine, but far more as an immediate form of domestic "first-aid" intervention that serves to prevent any need for further medical intervention by a medical professional.

The Gua Sha technique

Gua Sha involves repeated pressured strokes over lubricated skin with a smooth edge. Commonly a ceramic Chinese soup spoon was used, or a well worn coin, even honed animal bones, water buffalo horn, or jade. A simple metal cap with a rounded edge is commonly used.

In cases of fatigue from heavy work a piece of ginger root soaked in rice wine is sometimes used to rub down the spine from head to tail.

The smooth edge is placed against the pre-oiled skin surface, pressed down firmly, and then moved down the muscles -- hence the term "tribo-effleurage" (i.e., friction-stroking) -- or along the pathway of the acupuncture meridians, along the surface of the skin, with each stroke being about 4-6 inches long.

This causes extravasation of blood from the peripheral capillaries (petechiae) and may result in sub-cutaneous blemishing (ecchymosis), which usually takes 2-4 days to fade. Sha rash does not represent capillary rupture as in bruising, as is evidenced by the immediate fading of petechiae to echymosis, and the rapid resolution of sha as compared to bruising. The color of sha varies according to the severity of the patient's blood stasis -- which may correlate with the nature, severity and type of their disorder --appearing from a dark blue-black to a light pink, but is most often a shade of red. Although the marks on the skin look painful, they are not. Patients typically feel immediate sense of relief and change.

Practitioners tend to follow the tradition they were taught to obtain sha: typically using either gua sha or fire cupping. The techniques are not used together.

There is an allied technique, Ba Sha (拔痧), or 'tsien sha' literally "to lift up for cholera", which has a similar application to Gua Sha. It is performed by gripping the skin, lifting and then flicking between the fingers until petechiae appear. It is used more often on the tendons, at the center of the brow, or than over specific acupuncture points.

Indikationen

Im klassischen chinesischen Gebrauch wird Gua Sha meist angewendet bei:

• Erkältung
• Fieber
• Husten und Atemnot: Bronchitis, Asthma, Emphysem
• Hitzeerschöpfung
• Muskel-, Bänderverletzungen und Steifheit
• Kreislaufschwäche
• Schmerzen
• Kopfschmerzen, Migräne
• Fibromyalgie
• Frauenleiden
• Urologischen Problemen
• Verdauungsproblemen
• Unterstützend bei Lebens- und Rauschmittelvergiftungen

Siehe auch

• Volksheilkunde
• Schröpfen
• Moxibustion
• Tui na als eine Form der Traditionelle Chinesische Medizin

• Petechien als eine Form der Ekchymose

Literatur

• Huard, P. & Wong, M. (Smith, D.N. trans.), Oriental Methods of Mental and Physical Fitness: The Complete Book of Meditation, Kinesitherapy, and Martial Arts in China, India, and Japan, Funk & Wagnalls, (New York), 1977. ISBN 0-308-10271-1
• Nielsen, A., Gua Sha: Traditional Technique for Modern Practice, Churchill Livingstone, (Edinburgh/New York), 1995. ISBN 0-443-05181-X
• Nielsen, A., "Gua Sha. Step-by-Step: A Visual Guide to a Traditional Technique for Modern Medicine" (teaching video)Verlag fuer Ganzheitliche Medizin, Koetzing, Germany. 2002. ISBN 3-927344-63-X
• Yeatman GW, Dang VV. Cao gio (coin rubbing): Vietnamese attitudes toward health care. JAMA. 1980;244:2748-2749