Gua sha, or kerokan (in Indonesia), is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practice in which a tool is used to scrape people's skin in order to produce light petechiae.

[2] Gua sha, the literal translation being "to scrape petechia" which refers to the sand-like bruising after the treatment, spread from China to Vietnam, where it became very popular.

The origin of this term is the Shang Han Lun, a c. 220 CE Chinese medical text on illness caused by cold.

In cases of fatigue from heavy manual labor work, a piece of ginger root soaked in rice wine is sometimes used to rub down the spine from top to bottom.

[4] In China, both gua sha and fire cupping are widely available in institutions ranging from national and public hospitals to private massage shops.

Due to local peoples' deep trust in traditional Chinese medicine and the treatments' reasonable price, both are very popular.

Protective measurements against infectious agents that are recommended include the single use of disposable devices, sterilization of re-used equipment, and glove use.