Cupping As Part of Your Acupuncture Treatment

Cupping is a type of alternative therapy that involves placing cups on the skin to create suction.It is one of the oldest practices of therapies used by ancient Egyptian, Chinese, Korean, Tibetan, and Greek practitioners. Hippocrates, Greek physician and “father” of medicine, used and documented the use of cupping techniques. This suction works by increasing the blood flow to the muscles by pulling toxins out of the muscles, it also loosens the fascia.

According to a review of studies, cupping provides reported benefit for localized or systematic diseases. The increased blood circulation where the cups are placed, relieves muscle tension, helps form new connective tissues and creates new blood vessels in the tissues, promote cell repair and facilitate healing.

There are different types of cupping: classic, moving, bleeding and flash. For classic, the cups are placed over the painful areas and left in place for 5 to 10 minutes. Moving cups are usually placed on large muscles. Massage oil is placed on the area then the cups are applied. The cups are then slid over the area. Moving cups are good for muscle spasms.  Bleeding cupping is where a lancet is used to prick the skin over an area of chronic pain. The cup is then placed over it and the vacuum of the cups pulls the stagnant blood out. Flash cupping is where the cups are applied and removed quickly and retained for a short amount of time. This removes toxins and increases blood flow to the area.

The side effects of cupping is temporary bruising and soreness and If the cups are left on too long, there can be some blistering. You need to make sure you drink plenty of water after cupping to flush the toxins out of you system.