Scraping to Treat Chronic Pain

Scraping techniques (such as Chinese guasha, and western graston) are very useful techniques to release soft tissue chronic pain.

Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that when a part of the human body is in pain, because of its respective meridians being blocked and Qi cannot flow.  Scraping special parts of the body can take the toxin out of the body, and reopen the meridians.

Modern researches prove that scraping can promote local microvascular circulation and improve the metabolism, therefor remove pain factors from this area faster. The scraping procedure also releases endorphins which reduce the pain by regulating the pain receptors?.

In clinical experience, a lot of soft tissue chronic pain is due to previous injury, repetitive overuse and inflammation.  Medical practice may look for natural therapy, such as massage, cupping and acupuncture to help reduce these pains.

In my clinical practice, I find the scraping treatment is the best choice in some conditions, especially for tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis.

The Scraping technique involves using a specific tool to scrape the affected area to introduce a controlled amount of microtrauma, so that it will invoke an inflammatory response that will then augment the healing process.

The scraping tools can be stones, steel, even a soup-spoon or anything easy to handle with a smooth edge.

The Scraping technique treatment should be performed once a week for six consecutive weeks. The scraping normally takes 10-15 minutes. The amount of force that is used depends on the patient’s pain tolerance and the practitioner’s skill and knowledge. There is a report that said as a result of the Scraping treatment, the success rate is above 90% in tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. Most people could find immediate partial relief to their pain after first treatment. 

Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow is a condition that the forearm muscles and tendons, which extend the wrist and fingers become damaged from repetitive overuse. This leads to pain and tenderness on the outside of the elbow. The tendon usually involved in tennis elbow is called the Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis (ECRB)

Performing scraping to treat tennis elbow ：

1.  One hand holds patient’s pain elbow, the other hand use a scraping tool to scrap around the lateral epicondyle of humerus.

2.  One hand holds the patient’s wrist and makes it flex so that the wrist extensor muscle is being stretched. Then use a scraping tool to scrape from the lateral epicondyle to the wrist, following the extensor muscle fibre.

Achilles Tendonitis

The Achilles tendon is a large tendon; it is an extension of calf muscles, running down the back of the lower leg attaching to the heel bone. Achilles Tendonitis is a term that commonly refers to an inflammation of the Achilles tendon or its covering. It is a type of overuse injury.

Performing scraping to treat Achilles tendonitis:

1.  Lie legs flat on bed; one hand holds the ankle, whilst the other hand scraps the calf muscle from distal to proximal.

2.  Flex the knee at a 90 degree angle, and extend the ankle to stretch the Achilles tendon. One hand holds the foot; the other hand scraps the Achilles tendon’s sides and back, from the heel towards the calf muscle.

Plantar Fasciitis

The plantar fascia is the flat band of tissue (ligament) that connects the heel bone to the toes. It supports the arch of the foot. Plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the plantar fascia, due to overstretching or overuse.

Performing scraping to treat plantar fasciitis:

Flex the knee at a 90 degree angle, and extend the ankle to stretch the Plantar Fascia and then scrape the ligament from the toes to the heel