Thai Scraping, called Khroodt, Khoodt, or Koodt in Thailand, is a practice predominantly found in Northern Thailand, and in essence it’s very similar to Chinese Gua Sha.
The skin scraping treatment is done by so-called scraping or spooning, which is carried out with oil (or other lubricant) and a small scraping tool. The tool is blunt and can be a polished stone of jade, rose quartz or marble, a ceramic or porcelain spoon, animal bone, or wood. As a rule, the treatment is not painful.
The scraped skin typically becomes quite red showing red stripes or areas, which is in fact a kind of superficial hemorrhage, but practitioners believe that scraping therapy releases unhealthy matter, releases heat, and reduces inflammations and pains. It is also used to help treat cold, flu, and fever.
Scraping is typically done on the neck, back, and limbs and it’s believed that apart from the above, the treatment is also beneficial for:
- Improving blood circulation and hence improved nutrition of the scraped area
- Relieving chronic neck and shoulder pain;
- Injury recovery;
- Alleviating Carpel Tunnel Syndrome;
- Relaxing muscle tissue;
- Breaking up scar tissue and adhesions;
- Treating tension headaches;
- Releasing tension of the fascia.
Note: there is also a Lanna Folk Healing treatment known in Thailand which is called Ched Haek being rather similar to Guasha.