Gua sha can treat acute conditions such as chills, fevers and the common cold, and muscular and skeletal injuries.  Gua means to scrape or rub. Sha is the term used to describe blood stasis in the subcutaneous tissue before and after it is raised as petechiae (bruising).  In traditional Chinese medicinal philosophy, sha is considered to be an accumulation of heat and blood at the subcutaneous levels of the body.  A spoon or buffalo horn is used to stimulate the meridians and stir up Qi or life force energy.  The purpose of the scraping method is to draw the injury out of the body.