An alternative physical therapy with origins in China and the Middle East, cupping therapy is used by trained practitioners to both treat and prevent certain conditions. The procedure involves creating suction on specific points of your body. Special cups create an inner vacuum that fasten the cups to your skin.
Your doctor may perform cupping therapy in either a wet or a dry procedure. When wet cupping, your doctor makes a small puncture in the skin, and the suction pulls out a small amount of blood. Dry cupping only uses the suction on your skin. Neither method produces any discomfort.
Your doctor determines which type of procedure is best for you. Although some slight bruising or skin discoloration in the shape of the cups is possible after a treatment, they dissipate quickly and painlessly.
A History of Health Benefits
Cupping can treat pain and prevent more serious conditions down the road. One of the most famous modern believers in cupping therapy is the gold medal-winning machine, Michael Phelps, who employed the technique during the 2016 Olympics.
While scientific studies have yet to conclusively prove cupping’s therapeutic benefits, the anecdotal evidence is vast and impressive. Cupping reduces pain by increasing blood flow. It functions as a deep tissue massage by alternating suction with decompression.
What Health Conditions Does Cupping Address?
Researchers and doctors continue to debate cupping therapy’s effectiveness, but it’s been practiced for thousands of years. Cupping can be used to treat a myriad of conditions, including:
• Pain. Your doctor may recommend cupping for neck or back pain.
• Skin conditions. Some practitioners claim success in treating acne and herpes zoster.
• Sports injuries. Many athletes incorporate cupping therapy into their recovery process after an injury or surgery.
Your practitioner gently warms your problem area by applying specially-designed glass cups. Usually, the doctor has you lie comfortably on your stomach, side or back on top of a massage table. The cupping therapist then places the warmed cups directly onto your skin at the proper locations.
Your specialist applies cups statically on your skin for five minutes or up to 20 minutes. There’s also a sliding technique with massage oil that’s sometimes appropriate. The sliding method is especially useful on large muscle groups, including the muscles of your back.
If you suffer from excessive inflammation, your doctor may prick your skin before covering it with a warmed cup. Wet cupping helps your body release internal toxins.
Many painful conditions seem to result from tightened or compressed fascia — the connective tissue beneath your skin. The warmed air inside the cup produces a vacuum that draws skin upward into the cup. The process encourages blood flow to increase in the area, which loosens your fascia.
As part of your healing process, your body moves blood containing antibodies and other nutrients back and forth throughout your body. Increased circulation improves your body’s natural healing process, helping it repair damage more quickly. Improved circulation also removes toxins trapped in stiff fascia tissue as it loosens.
Cupping practitioners claim the technique helps your body remove circulatory blockages that inhibit healing. Accumulated toxins in a specific area of your body inhibit blood flow and prevent healing. The cupping technique, therefore, relieves pain and promotes healing.
You may experience improved mobility and muscle relaxation, as well as pain relief, without the harmful side effects of injections or pain medications. Cupping therapy enhances your body’s own healing process in a natural, safe and effective way. Patients who find the natural cupping method especially attractive include:
