Lately, many female friends have shown interest in leg scraping, as they have heard that it can help slim down the legs. So, do you know the correct direction for leg scraping?
Correct Direction for Leg Scraping
1. Normal Condition: Both upward and downward directions are acceptable
For individuals with generally healthy legs, leg scraping can be done in both upward and downward directions. However, it is generally better to scrape from bottom to top, as it helps relax the legs after a long day and improves blood circulation. Spend 3-5 minutes on each area.
2. Varicose Veins: Scrape from bottom to top
If there are varicose veins or swelling in the legs, it is important to scrape from bottom to top. This can improve blood circulation, while scraping in the opposite direction can worsen the swelling.
Correct Method for Slimming Legs through Scraping
1. Preparation for Scraping
Prepare a scraping board and scraping oil. Before scraping, apply some scraping oil onto your legs. Sit comfortably on a sofa or bed, bend your legs naturally, and relax them.
2. Scraping Positions
To slim down the legs through scraping, focus on scraping the following acupoints: Futu, Xuehai, Zusanli, Fengshi, Chengfu, Sanyinjiao, Xuanzhong, Weizhong, and Chengshan. Scrape one acupoint at a time, doing 50-100 strokes before moving on to the next acupoint. The acupoints are symmetrical, so scrape both legs before moving to the next one. It is generally recommended to scrape from bottom to top.
3. Usage of Scraping Board
The scraping board should form an acute angle of 40-60% with the calf and an obtuse angle with the thigh. Start from the bending point of the knee, and scrape in only one direction each time, avoiding back-and-forth scraping like rubbing.
4. Strength of Scraping
If the force applied is too light, the effect will not be as good. Use a force that you can withstand and scrape with strength. The greater the force and the faster the speed, the better the effect.
5. Stretching after Scraping
After scraping, you can do some leg slimming yoga exercises, such as muscle stretching or cycling in the air, or lie down and raise your legs against the wall for about 10 minutes. This will enhance the slimming effect.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Leg Scraping
1. Benefits
Leg scraping can promote blood circulation in the legs, keep the meridians unobstructed, and improve metabolism. It can also help slim down the legs.
Some women often wear high heels, which can cause muscle tension in the legs. Scraping can help relax the muscles, relieve pain, and promote the recovery of affected areas.
2. Drawbacks
The drawbacks of scraping usually arise from improper scraping techniques, excessive frequency of scraping, or scraping individuals who should not be scraped. However, overall, the drawbacks are minimal.
(1) Prolonged scraping without moderation can cause damage to the skin and is not helpful in relieving fatigue, but can instead increase the burden on the body.
(2) For individuals with skin ulcers or other skin conditions, scraping is not enjoyable, but rather a torment that can cause greater harm to fragile skin tissue and even lead to infection and worsen the condition.
(3) For certain individuals with blood disorders or problems with heart or liver function, scraping should be avoided to prevent further harm to the body.
Precautions for Scraping
1. Avoid wind and keep warm during scraping treatment
Avoid wind and keep warm during scraping treatment. When the room temperature is low, try to minimize exposure of the treated area. In hot summer temperatures, do not scrape in front of a fan or in drafty areas. Scraping opens the skin pores, and if exposed to wind or cold, external pathogens can enter directly through the open pores, affecting the efficacy of scraping and even causing new diseases.
2. Treat only one condition at a time
During each treatment, do not spend too long on scraping, and strictly adhere to the principle of treating only one condition at a time. Avoid treating large areas with scraping consecutively to protect the body's righteous energy.
The acupoints provided for each condition can be combined with holographic acupoint application. You can choose 1-2 acupoints for each treatment.
3. Drink a cup of hot water after scraping treatment
Scraping treatment opens the pores and dispels external pathogens, which consumes some of the body's fluid. After scraping, drink a cup of hot water to replenish the lost fluids and promote metabolism and the elimination of metabolic waste.
4. Pay attention to the timing of bathing after scraping treatment
After scraping treatment, to avoid invasion by wind or cold pathogens, wait for the skin pores to close and return to their original state before bathing, which usually takes about 3 hours. However, during the bathing process, when the water has not dried completely, scraping can still be done. During bathing, when the pores are slightly open, scraping can be done with a shorter duration, producing significant effects, but be sure to keep warm.
5. Pay attention to the scraping direction
Avoid back-and-forth scraping. In principle, scrape from top to bottom and from the inside out. For the face, scrape from the inside out; for the head, scrape from the top to the sides; for the neck, scrape from top to bottom; for the back and waist, scrape from top to bottom and from the inside out; for the chest, scrape from the inside out; for the abdomen, scrape from top to bottom; for the limbs, scrape from top to bottom. After scraping one area, move on to the next, and do not scrape randomly.
6. Pay attention to the duration of scraping
The scraping time for each area is 3-5 minutes, while for supplementary scraping, it is 5-10 minutes. Generally, for each patient, choose 3-5 areas to scrape. For patients who do not show sha (redness or petechiae caused by scraping), the appearance of sha points or purpura on the skin is sufficient, and it should not be forced.
7. Pay attention to the interval between treatments
Before the sha marks from the previous scraping treatment have disappeared, do not scrape the same area again. There should be an interval of 3-6 days between subsequent scraping treatments, based on the disappearance of sha marks as the standard. Generally, 3-5 treatments constitute one course.
