Gua sha looks good on Instagram – but is it worth the hype or a waste of time?

Most of the purported benefits of gua sha – such as alleviating pain or stiffness – are self-reported, which means it’s difficult to run a good scientific trial on its efficacy, Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz writes. Composite: Guardian Design

The world of wellness fads is a cyclical place. Everything comes back into fashion when a new generation of influencers decides to switch it up. Pretty much every current hype was popular in decades past, from extreme juicing to genital sunning and everything in between.

Gua sha is the ancient practice of scraping the skin to form mild bruises – called petechiae – which are thought to do a variety of helpful things for your body. The practice has been around in China for centuries and has spread through the wonders of social media to all corners of the globe.