Gua Sha (Chinese: 刮痧; pinyin: guā shā)
So, I have not yet (to my knowledge) had tuina but yesterday I finally had gua sha. Lower back pain was getting to point of not being able to move.. so I gave in. Really, not as bad as I thought it would be. My beloved acupuncturist/physical therapist once again warned me "I can help with that but you wont like it." And, as usual, was accurate. But it DOES help, and while I am still showing the marks, I am moving. So.... another learning experience. Gua Sha is a form of cupping used in TCM, in case you were wondering, This pic is of my lower back 24 hours later... yikes! Looks way worse than it feels.