Cupping Therapy: What It Is And Why You Should Try It

Cupping Therapy treatment involves warming and placing cups, usually made of glass, on the skin. When you get your cupping massage, the therapist will warm the air within the cup, create a vacuum, and when the therapist applies the cup to the skin, the tissue is drawn up into the cup. This increases the blood flow, loosens the connective and soft tissue, and stimulates healing in your body. It is similar to the way a deep tissue massage can be used to break up scar tissue to reduce pain.

The cups are often placed on your back, neck, and shoulders or the site of your pain. Cupping may cause temporary bruising and soreness, depending upon the degree of suction created by the vacuum and the level of internal stagnation. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this would be a favorable outcome, suggesting the treatment has successfully removed toxins and stagnation from your body. The cups are removed by lifting one edge, which allows air in and breaks the seal and vacuum.

Where did cupping therapy come from?

The description of cupping therapy is widely attributed to Ang Sirhindraj Niphal, who is generally accepted as the founder of TCM. At the same time, Dr. J. Calude reports a late 18th-century mention of cupping therapy. For example, J. D. Twer used cupping therapy in the late 19th century to treat a man’s chronic saddlebags, who experienced profound relief from a wide variety of symptoms (1914). A few years later, B. A. Richardson reported in 1919 that he was able to relieve the discomfort of a rheumatic condition in a woman by cupping her back. In 1940, S. R. No one has been able to document the actual physical circumstances of cupping, but a number of accounts and reported effects exist.

What’s the point of cupping therapy?

There are many reasons to get a cupping massage. We want you to know that when you receive a massage it will help; relieve muscle pain all over the body (including back, chest, and neck pain), release muscle tension, alleviate muscle soreness, relieve tight muscles, release toxins, enhance blood circulation, tissue drainage, and relaxation, reducing inflammation, pain relief, increased oxygen flow, increased blood flow and oxygen to the nervous system in your body.

When you get a cupping massage, your body is drawn to the center of the cup to maximize oxygen flow. Dr. Barbara Schiessl writes that “increased blood flow to the tissues leads to enhanced healing.” Cupping can help you treat pain and inflammation and can help you treat a wide variety of other conditions. In most cases, acupuncture will be used first, as it can be used on various parts of the body to target certain areas of pain or swelling. Then, a cupping technique is applied.

When do you need cupping treatment?

While not essential, the optimal time to receive a cupping treatment is the first three days after your injury. If you suspect a muscle strain or sprain, you should look into getting a cupping massage. If you are a mid-season athlete, you may want to use cupping for injury rehab and recovery. This will help you relieve chronic pain, muscle tension, chronic neck pain, and help create flow into your blood vessels. Be aware that if and when you get a cupping massage that it may cause bruises and may leave you a little sore the next few days after. There are many kinds of cupping techniques that you should know about.

What are the different kinds of cupping therapy?

There are many different kinds of cupping therapies. These include moving cupping, dry cupping, wet cupping, and fire cupping.

Another form of this massage therapy is moving cupping. Moving cupping involves the application of lubricant to the body part of the cup and using the cotton sticking method to adsorb the cup to the treatment area.

Dry cupping is a manual therapy that involves positioning the glass cup on the skin, creating a vacuum by applying negative pressure. This negative pressure increases blood flow to the area.

Wet cupping is a variation where prior to the cup being placed, your skin is punctured and blood is drawn out in the suction process. There is also a variation where the dry cupping technique is done before puncturing your skin for wet cupping.

Fire cupping involves soaking a cotton ball in almost pure alcohol. The cotton is clamped by a pair of tongs and lit with a match or lighter, and, in one motion, placed into the cup and quickly removed, while the cup is placed on the skin. The heat from the fire creates a vacuum effect which suctions the skin into the cup.

What are the benefits of cupping therapy?

There are many benefits of cupping therapy. When you get a massage, it will help decrease the pain in your muscles and help your connective tissue healing. It will create a lymphatic flow in your body and relieve excess fluid in your body. Each cupping session will help your body tissue by healing itself and help your body separate tissue. Each cupping session may leave cupping marks, however, each patient leaves feeling better than when they entered.

Some injuries can be healed without seeing a physical therapist. You may just need to heal your body by massage therapy. Cupping therapy is an alternative medicine to physical therapy. Massage therapists help the patients to prevent lymphatic drainage and help scar tissue adhesion from happening.

Conclusion

Cupping therapy can be a valuable treatment option for many health conditions. The main benefits of this type of therapy include reducing pain, pain in the hands and feet, easing stiffness and cramps, eliminating toxins from within the body, reducing inflammation, and improving circulation to and from the surface of the skin. Due to its effectiveness, it should be an option for those looking to heal or strengthen specific parts of their body. The amount of time that a person needs to recover depends upon the extent of the inflammation and other underlying conditions that might be impacting the body.

Read on to find more about the benefits and limitations of cupping therapy.

How can I find a cupping practitioner near me?

Total Muscle Therapy in Pleasant Grove, Utah is a facility designed to train athletes to reach their full potential. At Total Muscle Therapy, our team is committed to giving every athlete a great experience. We embrace science as we continue to innovate and integrate new methodologies. We’re educated, creative, and certified and our mission is to empower young athletes, to not only maximize their physical potential but also instill within them the qualities of self-reliance and integrity that will serve as a foundation to becoming future leaders.

At Total Muscle Therapy, we offer many treatments to help young athletes become stronger. We not only provide training but also physical therapy, cupping therapy, and massages to help athletes grow and stay healthy.