Gua sha is a straightforward technique commonly used in Asia by practitioners of Traditional Medicine in both the clinical setting and in the home, but little known in the West. In gua sha, the skin is pressured in strokes by a round-edged instrument: this, in Western terms, extravasates blood and metabolic waste congesting the surface tissues and muscles, promoting normal circulation and metabolic processes. By resolving fluid and blood stasis, gua sha is valuable in the treatment of pain and the prevention and treatment of acute infectious illness, upper respiratory and digestive problems and many acute or chronic disorders.

The tape shows the step-by-step application of the technique, and explains the importance of gua sha in modern clinical practice. The technique is demonstrated in the treatment of patients from the First TCM Hospital in K�tzting, Germany. New information from the author�s own research is seen for the first time, including the diagnostic significance of the color of sha, and the importance of checking for immediate tongue changes as a direct result of gua sha.