It is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction.
People get it for many purposes, including to help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage.
Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction.
People get it for many purposes, including to help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage.
The benefits of cupping include local pain relief and muscle relaxation. Cupping improves overall health by removing the energy blockages that TCM practitioners identify as barriers to the flow of healthy energy or "Qi". For athletes, cupping may help increase blood flow to a particular muscle region or help reduce pain.
1. Depending on your body condition, your therapist placing cups on your back, or shoulder, or abdomen, etc.
2. While it draws your skin up into the cup, the suction will create a sensation of feeling tight at first (not painful).
3. By the end of the treatment, you may feel deep relaxation.
- Drink warm water before your session. It will help your body flush out what has been drawn up to the surface during cupping.
- Try to wear comfortable and loose and easy to take off clothes.
If the color is light pink is healthy,The purplish cupping mark means bad blood circulation; the red cupping mark signifies inflammation; the bluish-purple cupping mark indicates poor circulation and water retention (severe cold dampness).The dark purple spots show congestion and toxins. If no color at all it’s indicates low energy at that area.
Cupping mark with dark color means plenty of the pathogenic “Qi”, a life force. A darker coloring means a high level of toxins and stagnation in the section of the body has been treated.
It is safe and normal to get a bruise mark after cupping. It means that your body responds to the injuries with healing fluids to the area that contribute to the bruising or redness. The purpose of cupping is to wake up your immune system and activate your cells to move away the toxins and waste.
The healthier you are the faster the bruises go away. It’s like clean trash in your home, the more waste it has the more time it takes.The bruises for cupping can last for a few days up to 2-3 weeks. It is expected that over several weeks of repeated cupping treatments, the bruising will decrease as the stagnation resolves, which indicates a successful result of a cupping treatment protocol.
- Avoid showering or swimming for the rest of the day after your treatment.
- Drink plenty of room-temperature or warm water before your session and after. It will help your body flush out what has been drawn up to the surface during cupping.
Who is not suitable for cupping?
- Pregnant women;
- People who bleed easily or have bleeding disorders;
- Feel weak or tired.
1. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial, written by Lee-Mei chi, Li-Mei Lin, and five more.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4814666/
2. Wet cupping reduces pain and reproves health -related quality of life among patients with migraine: a prospective observational study, written by Abdullah Kai, Rohaiem Sawsan, Mourad Samiha and three more.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6425047/
3.Significant and sustaining elevation of blood oxygen induced by Chinese cupping therapy as assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy, written by Ting Li, Yaoxiao Li, Yu Liin, and Kai Li.
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5231294/
4.Cupping Hijama Therapy Skin Marks: WhatShould We Know About Them?
https://juniperpublishers.com/jcmah/pdf/JCMAH.MS.ID.555612.pdf
