What is Cupping?

Cupping involves the use of suction cups to create a vacuum effect on the skin. It is a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique used to alleviate pain by stimulating muscles and fascia, calming the nervous system, promoting blood and lymph flow at a specific site and eliminating pathogens from the body. Practitioners frequently use cupping alongside other techniques for the quick relief of back, neck and shoulder pain. They may also use it to ease the symptoms of colds and flus by stimulating the immune system.

How Does Cupping Work? What Does it Treat?

Traditionally, cups are made from glass, bamboo or earthenware. Your practitioner uses a flame inside the cup to create heat, which then cools and creates the desired suction effect when applied to the patients skin. Cups come in a variety of sizes and can be left stationary on the skin or the practitioner can glide them over the patients skin to create a sensation similar to massage. They may also be gently applied and removed rapidly and repeatedly.

Depending on the condition being treated, the cups will be left in place from 5 to 10 minutes. Several cups may be placed on a patient’s body at the same time. Some practitioners will also apply small amounts of medicated oils or herbal oils to the skin just before the cupping procedure, which lets them move the cups up and down particular acupoints or meridians after they have been applied.

Is Cupping Safe? Does it Hurt?

While cupping is considered relatively safe, it can cause some swelling and bruising on the skin. As the skin under a cup is drawn up, the blood vessels at the surface of the skin expand. This may result in small, circular bruises on the areas where the cups were applied. These bruises are usually painless, however, and disappear within a few days of treatment.