Traditional Chinese medicine encompasses the aspects of holographic diagnosis and treatment and knowledge of acupuncture points and meridians. One branch of this form of medicine is gua sha or scraping therapy which is used for various types of disorders in both Western and Chinese medicine.

Scientific Applications

The clinical applications and treatment procedures of gua sha therapy go beyond the symptomatic ramifications of a disease and address the underlying cause of illness most of which is stress related. The differentiation of syndromes in Chinese medicine and the emphasis on palliative measures in Western medicine should be combined in practical application.

While there are over 140,000 types of health conditions in Western medicine, in traditional Chinese medicine, all these issues are tied in one way or another to problems related to the internal organ systems and the 14 energy channels or meridians. The aim of gua sha therapy is to resolve the imbalance in the organ systems and meridians in an attempt to bring back normal bodily functions. Therefore, performing this therapy on a number of acupuncture points can help treat several illnesses. When dealing with the clinical applications of gua sha, there are just a hundred forms of common illnesses that are mentioned although the actual number can be much more than that.

Practical Applications

Using diagrams, pictures, and language, anyone can understand the principles of gua sha therapy. It can be easily memorized, understood, and applied by readers who have no previous medical knowledge. They can perform this procedure on themselves or others so long as they learn the techniques of the treatment. Aside from gua sha, Chinese herbal therapy alongside gua sha can be understood and used for each syndrome or disease.

The holographic diagnosis and treatment will increase the certitude of diagnosis and raise the efficacy of scraping therapy.

Gua sha therapy has been welcomed by both lay people and medical specialists alike since the Chinese edition of the book was first published and distributed in July 1995. This book was adopted and republished as a textbook and March 1996 by the School for Advanced Studies of TCM associated with China’s Institute of Moxibustion and Acupuncture in the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

To make traditional Chinese medicine in Jacksonville better appreciated and to deliver this traditional form of health care to a growing number of people, the publishers have replenished and modified this book in the spirit of continuous improvement to promote the well being of humanity. This natural therapy causes no pollution and has no adverse side-effects.