Skin blemishing resulting from gua sha. Gua sha (Chinese: 刮痧; pinyin: guā shā), meaning scraping sha-bruises, is a traditional Chinese medical treatment in which the skin is scraped to produce light bruising. Practitioners believe gua sha releases unhealthy elements from injured areas and stimulates blood flow and healing. Gua sha is sometimes referred to as spooning or coining by English speakers, it has also been given the descriptive French name, tribo-effleurage.