One aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine that’s rising in popularity in the US is cupping. You may not have heard of the treatment before but rest assured, it can provide with you tons of benefits – from relieving acute and chronic pain to curing certain respiratory diseases.
What is Cupping Therapy?
An ancient form of Chinese medicine, cupping is a procedure that uses a cup or cups that are applied to the skin with the pressure in the cup reduced (either by suction or heat) in order to hold and draw the skin and superficial muscles into the cup to produce a therapeutic effect. The practitioner moves the cup while the suction is active which causes the muscle and skin to be pulled. This procedure is known as gliding cupping.
Cupping therapy focuses on certain acupuncture points and areas of the body that are experiencing pain, where the pain is more profound deeper than the tissues to be pulled. Greater emphasis is placed on acupuncture points located on the back because this treatment is most easily performed when done on the back. Most practitioners utilize the da shui, bladder meridian, and back shu acupoints. Cupping is usually used after plum blossom treatment, bloodletting, or acupuncture.
The meridian theory of the body is where cupping treatment is based. Cupping opens up the meridians and eliminates stagnation in the body so that energy can move without hindrance. Cupping also aids in the rejuvenation of organs and certain energy channels that are not functioning optimally. From the viewpoint of science, cupping has been proven to repair deep tissue injury, enhance blood and energy flow, and activate the lymphatic system.
How Cupping Therapy is Done
Cupping treatment oftentimes uses glass cups although sometimes, bamboo cups are also used. The cups used come with a valve that connects to a small manual pump, enabling the healer to pump out air without having to use fire to first depressurize the cup. This also allows them to have better control over the amount of suction. Cupping is also referred to as suction cup therapy or ba guan fa.
Oil infused with medicinal herb extracts is applied to the skin in order to allow the cups to move smoothly over the skin. The cups are used at room temperature. The moving cups generate a little friction which produces a small amount of heat that adds to the potency of the therapy.
For about 10 to 15 minutes, the cups are left in place. Due to the congestion of blood and the suction’s effect on the capillaries, the skin will bruise and redden and turn purplish. Afterwards, the cup is then removed from the skin. This is done by pressing the skin on one side causing outside air to enter the cup and equalize the pressure.
Conditions Cupping Therapy Can Address
Cupping is usually performed to address paralysis, lung conditions (asthma and chronic coughing), gastrointestinal disorders, and pain, although it can also be useful for other illnesses. It should not be used on inflamed skin and should be only performed over fleshy parts of the body. It should not be used on people, who are easily bruised, suffer from convulsions or those with a high fever. In pregnant women, cupping should not be performed on their lower back region.
The effects of cupping therapy can be felt deep within the body, actually, as deep as four inches into the tissues, causing these tissues to release toxins. Cupping can also enhance the appearance of varicose veins, eliminate stretch marks, activate the skin, clear and energize the capillaries, arteries, and veins, clear colon blockages, and stimulate the lymphatic system.
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