Tools of the Trade - Cupping, Gua Sha and Moxa
More than just needles - how I use cupping, gua sha and moxibustion in treatment
When you imagine an acupuncture treatment, you of course think about the needles, which are the primary tools of acupuncture - hence the name, which apparently is formed from the Latin words for “needle” and “prick”.
But did you know that when we train as acupuncturists, we learn more than just how to work with needles?
We also use cupping, gua sha, moxibustion and other therapeutic approaches as part of treatment - all of these fall under the wider umbrella of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and are all valid tools in their own right. Here’s a quick look at these other techniques:
Cupping
You might well have heard about or seen reference to cupping, which has gained popularity over the last few years, particularly in wellness and sports therapy circles - in fact, those round circular marks that you might have seen on sports personalities or celebrities are the hallmarks of cupping therapy.
Traditionally, cupping uses a flame and glass cups to create a vacuum to basically suck up skin and underlying muscle and other tissue in a specific area. This helps to release tension from muscles and improve circulation, and from a TCM theory aspect, it increases the flow of Qi and Blood and helps to remove stagnation. There are now different style of cups produced too, with a manual suction valve to create the vacuum without the need for fire.
I typically use cupping with thicker muscles or where there are specific areas of pain or restriction to help loosen tension and getting things moving through the area again. The back, shoulders and upper legs are probably where I’m most likely to use cupping.
One thing to note with cupping is that it does leave a mark! Depending on the level of stagnation in the area, the marks can vary from a light red to deep purple - these don’t hurt, but are in essence a bruise, so the marks will slowly change colour and fade over time. How long that takes depends on the severity of the stagnation in the area.
Gua Sha
Perhaps less well known is gua sha, though it has seemed to pop up more in cosmetic/ skincare routines lately, and more therapists are utilising what they call muscle scraping, which is more or less the same thing, just through a different lens.
Gua Sha is the scraping of an area of the body using a scraping tool which can be made of metal, horn, or in the case of facial gua sha, typically some form of stone like quartz or jade. Using something like a massage oil to lubricate the area, the chosen tool is literally scraped over the skin and muscle in long flowing strokes.
Gua Sha is very much a cousin to cupping, in that the intention is the same - to relax muscles, release tension and increase circulation. Gua sha acts a little more superficially than cupping but is more dynamic, so you can work on a wider area more quickly. Like cupping, gua sha can leave marks, though often not as severe as with cupping, more like red patches that will fade over time.
I use gua sha occasionally, though not too often, but I find it convenient for working with neck and shoulder tension, so if you come to me with neck and shoulder problems you might get the gua sha treatment!
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is the burning of moxa (dried mugwort) to stimulate and warm areas of the body or specific acupuncture points.
Moxa can be used as an entire therapy in its own right, and is believed to pre-date acupuncture so it’s been used in treatment for a very long time.
Moxa can be used in different ways - indirect and direct. Indirect moxa is when the moxa doesn’t touch the body directly, and might be using a moxa stick or moxa box to warm an area, or used on top of needles to add a warming action to points. Direct moxa on the other hand is burned on specific points in the form of very tiny cones to activate points in that same way that you might use a needle.
When would I use moxa in treatment? If you’re presenting with a Cold-type pattern, moxa is useful to add a bit of warmth. I use something called bamboo moxa (ontake) a lot, which is burning moxa stuffed into a tube and used to tap or roll over points. A lot of my clients get ontake moxa at some point! I sometimes use direct moxa on certain points, often when treating pain conditions as moxa can be useful to get more movement going in a point.
All of these tools can be used in isolation, but really they work best as part of a wider toolset alongside each other and acupuncture to get the best treatment outcome for you.
If you’re interested in learning more about how any or all of these might help you, get in touch for a chat, or if you’re just keen to give it a go, you can book a session using the button below!
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