A Cupping Alternative

In response to the post about some outdoor Chinese cupping therapy in Hengyang, an Asian American reader mentioned a related treatment also common in China — gua sha:

Cupping freaks me out I'll stick to gua sha, thank you.

Gua sha is becoming a "new thing" here in the US with therapy clinics offering it in places like NYC. I feel sorry for these people who have to go and pay for it because they don't have a Chinese for Vietnamese grandma who will pin them down at the first sign of illness and force it on them for free.

I have to say, I don't know why it works better than a standard deep massage, but it is still the only thing that can get rid of my migraines after a megadose of ibuprofen fails.

It seems I am missing out. Another person has raised the possibility that the practice is like a grandmother offering matzah ball soup, though, so perhaps I have made out OK.