Guasha is a commonly used therapeutic method in traditional Chinese medicine. It is simple to perform and safe, and many people like to use guasha for treatment when they have minor ailments. However, sometimes numbness in the hands can occur after guasha. So how can we relieve numbness in the hands after guasha? Is numbness in the hands caused by guasha?
Can guasha cause numbness in the hands?
Many people experience numbness in their hands after guasha. The possible reasons for numbness in the hands after guasha are as follows:
1. Lying down for too long
Numbness in the hands after guasha may be caused by lying down for too long, which can lead to poor circulation and numbness in the peripheral nerves, resulting in numbness in the hands.
2. Excessive force
In general, the bones and tendons in the human body are interconnected. Numbness in the hands after guasha may be caused by using too much force during guasha, resulting in a more pronounced reaction, which varies from individual to individual.
3. Symptoms of cervical spondylosis itself
Numbness in the hands after guasha may also be unrelated to guasha. If the patient has other diseases such as cervical spondylosis, nerve damage, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia, numbness in the hands may occur.
How to relieve numbness in the hands after guasha
1. Move your body
If numbness in the hands occurs after guasha due to excessive force or lying down for too long, it is recommended to move your body more after getting up. Do some warm-up exercises for the shoulders and hands, and move your hands more. This usually leads to significant improvement.
2. Apply hot compress or soak in hot water
After guasha, you can try applying a hot water bag or soaking your hands in hot water. This can promote blood circulation and relieve numbness in the peripheral nerves, thereby alleviating numbness in the hands.
3. Treat the underlying cause
Various diseases such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cerebral ischemia, cerebral arteriosclerosis, stroke, and neuritis can all cause numbness in the hands. If numbness in the hands is determined to be caused by a disease, prompt medical treatment is necessary.
Precautions for guasha therapy
1. Precautions before guasha treatment
1. Guasha therapy requires exposed skin, and the sweat pores are open during guasha. If exposed to wind and cold, evil qi can directly enter the body through the open pores, affecting the effect of guasha treatment and possibly causing new diseases. Therefore, before guasha, choose a good treatment location with fresh and well-ventilated air, pay attention to keeping warm, avoid wind, and avoid guasha in places with drafts in the summer. Try to expose as little skin as possible.
2. Choose a comfortable position for guasha to facilitate scraping and prevent dizziness from guasha.
3. Strictly disinfect guasha tools to prevent cross-infection. Before scraping, carefully inspect the guasha tools to avoid scraping the skin.
4. The hands of the practitioner should also be disinfected.
5. Before scraping, explain the general knowledge of guasha to the patient, eliminate their fear, and gain their cooperation in order to prevent dizziness from guasha.
6. Do not perform guasha treatment on patients who are excessively hungry, full, or overly tense.
2. Precautions during guasha treatment
1. The scraping technique should be evenly applied with appropriate pressure, reaching the point of sha (the appearance of redness).
2. For infants, the elderly, and the weak, the scraping technique should be applied with lighter pressure.
3. Do not blindly pursue the appearance of sha and use excessive force or prolong the duration of guasha. The amount of sha is influenced by various factors. In general, blood stasis conditions produce more sha; excess or heat conditions produce more sha; deficiency or cold conditions produce less sha; excessive medication, especially the use of hormone drugs, makes it difficult to produce sha; obese or muscular individuals produce less sha; the yin meridians produce less sha compared to the yang meridians; sha is less likely to appear in low room temperatures.
4. During scraping, frequently inquire about the patient's sensations. If dizziness occurs, such as fatigue, dizziness, pale complexion, nausea, cold sweat, palpitations, cold limbs, or decreased blood pressure, loss of consciousness, guasha should be immediately stopped. Comfort the patient and help them lie down, pay attention to keeping warm, and provide warm water or sugar water. If the symptoms do not alleviate, lightly press the water groove points on the edge of the guasha board to avoid edema after heavy pressure. Use purging guasha technique on the Baihui acupoint and Yongquan acupoint. After the patient's condition improves, continue scraping the Neiguan acupoint and Zusanli acupoint.
3. Precautions after guasha treatment
1. Guasha treatment opens the sweat pores and eliminates evil qi, which consumes part of the body's fluid. Therefore, after guasha treatment, drink a cup of warm water and rest for a while.
2. After guasha treatment, in order to avoid invasion of wind and cold, the skin pores need to close and return to their original state before bathing, which usually takes about 3 hours.
3. For patients with complex and critical conditions, guasha treatment should be accompanied by other therapies, such as medication, to avoid delaying the condition.
What are the contraindications of guasha therapy?
Although guasha therapy can be used for the treatment of various diseases, it also has precautions and contraindications.
1. Patients with bleeding tendencies should not or should be cautious in using this method for treatment. For example, patients with thrombocytopenic diseases, allergic purpura, leukemia, etc., should not use purging guasha technique for treatment, but rather use tonifying guasha technique or balancing guasha technique.
2. For critically ill patients, such as acute infectious diseases and severe heart disease, they should be immediately hospitalized for observation and treatment. If there are no other options, guasha therapy can be used temporarily for first aid to buy time and treatment opportunities.
3. Newly occurring fractures should not be treated with guasha and should be allowed to heal before guasha can be performed on the affected area. Guasha should also be avoided on surgical scars until two months after the surgery. Guasha should be used with caution on scar areas after surgery for malignant tumors.
4. Infectious skin diseases, such as abscesses, boils, scars, ulcers, sexually transmitted skin diseases, and unknown lumps on the skin, should not be directly scraped on the affected area.
5. Guasha should not be used on the abdomen of elderly, weak, fasting, and pregnant women, as well as on the lower abdomen during menstruation in women. A light scraping technique should be used on the face of women.
6. This method should not be used on individuals who are afraid of guasha or allergic to it.
7. Pregnant women and women during menstruation should not have their lower abdomen scraped, as well as the Sanyinjiao acupoint, Hegu acupoint, and Zusanli acupoint. The scraping technique should be light and tonifying guasha technique should be used.
