Arabic version: ادعاءات غوا شا للوجه تفتقر إلى أدلة علمية كافية

According to The Guardian, gua sha, an ancient Chinese practice that involves scraping lubricated skin with a smooth stone, coin or similar tool, has gained fresh visibility through social media. The technique can produce mild bruising known as petechiae, which some practitioners link to claims about removing “toxins”, improving blood flow, healing skin and strengthening the immune system.

The reported mechanism is not supported by evidence, the article says. Gua sha does increase blood flow in the treated area, but that does not itself demonstrate a health benefit. Dr Brad McKay, a GP and science communicator, compared the practice’s effects to those of a forceful massage and noted that increased blood flow also follows an injury. Petechiae are described as the body’s response to heavy pressure and are expected to disappear on their own.

Research on gua sha remains limited. A recent review of its use for perimenopausal syndrome found that most trials were of low methodological quality and unlikely to provide useful evidence. A small randomised trial published in 2019 reported benefits for lower back pain, but was also described as unconvincing.

Testing the treatment is difficult because participants cannot easily be blinded to whether they are receiving gua sha. Many claimed effects, including relief from pain or stiffness, are self-reported, creating a risk of biased results. Studies measuring less subjective outcomes, such as hormone levels, have found fewer apparent benefits, and those findings came only from the lowest-quality research.

The article concludes that gua sha is relatively harmless and well suited to visually driven platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, but is likely to offer benefits similar to therapeutic massage while adding the possibility of pain if overdone.