Gua Sha has relieved my TMJ

What it is, how I do it, and why I love it

A couple of weeks ago, during a networking call, a friend was rubbing her face with a flat green rock. She told us it was a Gua Sha stone and I immediately recognized it as something that was sitting in my freezer.

I don’t recall how or when I got the stone, but it had been in my freezer for at least a year. I’d never used it. I didn’t even know what it was until she told us. 🤣

After the call, I grabbed mine and then hit Google to learn more:

“Gua Sha is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) technique that involves using a smooth-edged tool to gently scrape the skin in one direction. The name Gua Sha comes from the Chinese word for scraping. It's also known as skin scraping, spooning, or coining."

The goal of Gua Sha is to promote circulation and healing by improving lymphatic drainage and blood flow. It's believed to reduce inflammation, activate the immune and nervous systems, and release chemicals that promote healing.”

While there’s no Western scientific proof that Gua Sha “works,” there’s anecdotal evidence that it can help relieve a bunch of things I deal with, including TMJ.

COUNT. ME. IN.

I grabbed my bottle of Butterland Babe Body Oil, which I ordered back in February but never used, and got to work.

I applied a couple of drops of oil to my face and then spent 5-10 minutes rubbing the stone across my face and, most especially, along my jaw line and up to the temporomandibular joint in front of each ear.

It felt so relaxing and was a wonderful way to end my night and ease into sleep.

After one week, I noticed that I was no longer having TMJ pain or headaches. That’s notable because I’ve dealt with serious TMJ issues for many, many years. My jaw is still quite tight, but much more relaxed than I’ve ever noticed it.

The other thing I noticed was that the deep wrinkles on my forehead were looking less severe (before and after below). The change was subtle, but noticeable to me.

I don’t mind my wrinkles, to be clear. I’m not trying to “defy” aging or any of that beauty culture bullshit. But it was an interesting and unexpected side effect of my Gua Sha practice.

I’m not a professional at this. I’ve only been doing it for a couple of weeks, but for those who wonder here’s what my practice looks like. This is an abbreviated video to show the basic moves I do each night with my stone.

If you’re interested in exploring Gua Sha for TMJ (or headaches, insomnia, joint pain, or the many other things it may help with), I highly recommend learning from a professional.

Even better, learn from a Chinese professional (like this Lanshin account on YouTube) who is actually part of the culture that created the practice.

My favorite thing about Gua Sha (other than how it makes me feel, obviously) is that it’s INEXPENSIVE. You don’t have to go to a fancy spa and spend hundreds to do it and to see the benefits.

You can do it yourself for just the cost of a body oil and a Gua Sha stone (this is the one I use). The only other investment is a few minutes of your time each day.

If you give Gua Sha a try, please tell me what you think in the comments to this post!