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Mon, 13 Aug 2018 10:19:09 +0000
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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 cups may be made of:

Glass

Bamboo

Earthenware

Silicone

Cupping therapy might be trendy now, but it’s not new. It dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cultures. One of the oldest medical textbooks in the world, the Ebers Papyrus, describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1,550 B.C.

What is Cupping?

Cupping applies suction to the surface of the body to draw out pathogenic factors or to invigorate the flow of Qi at the surface of the body.

Cupping is usually done by inserting a flame into a small glass cup to remove the air and create a vacuum. The cup is then deftly inverted onto the surface of the body where the cup is held firmly in place by the suction created by the vacuum effect. This method is called “fire cupping.” There are also specially designed cups fitted with air lock valves that allow practitioners to remove the air with a hand-held pump.

Frequently, the practitioner will apply a lubricant to the skin before placing the cups, and then move the cups back and forth across certain area of the body. This combines the effects of cupping with dermal friction therapy (gua sha) and is called “sliding cup” technique.

Types

There are different methods of cupping, including:

Dry

Wet

During both types of cupping, your therapist will put a flammable substance such as alcohol, herbs, or paper in a cup and set it on fire. As the fire goes out, he puts the cup upside down on your skin.

As the air inside the cup cools, it creates a vacuum. This causes your skin to rise and redden as your blood vessels expand. The cup is generally left in place for up to 3 minutes.

A more modern version of cupping uses a rubber pump instead of fire to create the vacuum inside the cup. Sometimes therapists use silicone cups, which they can move from place to place on your skin for a massage-like effect.

Wet cupping creates a mild suction by leaving a cup in place for about 3 minutes. The therapist then removes the cup and uses a small scalpel to make light, tiny cuts on your skin. Next, he or she does a second suction to draw out a small quantity of blood.

You might get 3-5 cups in your first session. Or you might just try one to see how it goes. It’s rare to get more than 5-7 cups, the British Cupping Society notes.

Afterward, you may get an antibiotic ointment and bandage to prevent infection. Your skin should look normal again within 10 days.

Cupping therapy supporters believe that wet cupping removes harmful substances and toxins from the body to promote healing. But that’s not proven.

Some people also get “needle cupping,” in which the therapist first inserts acupuncture needles and then puts cups over them.

When is it used?

Cupping is frequently used to treat early stage colds and flu, trauma, and muscle pain, especially in the back and shoulders.

Does it leave marks?

Cupping, like gua sha, leaves distinctive marks on the skin. While this is not harmful or painful, the markings are unsightly (resembling, as many patients describe them, “giant hickies and massive rug burns”). When cupping or gua sha is used on children, it is not uncommon for well-meaning child-care providers to mistake the markings as child abuse.

Understandably, TCM practitioners now provide their patients with informed consent information prior to the use of this therapy.

What is dermal friction?刮痧?

Dermal friction therapy (called “gua sha” and pronounced “gwa shaw”) is a method that involves increasing circulation at the surface of the skin by means of “scraping” the skin vigorously with a blunt edged object. TCM practitioners usually use dermal friction therapy on the back, neck and shoulders, or the fleshy part of the limbs. The practitioner will often first apply a lubricant, such as sesame oil, Vaseline, or tiger balm, to the skin before scraping the area with the smooth, blunt edge of an object, such as a coin or the lip of a juice glass (a ceramic soup spoon is traditionally used in Asia). Dermal friction therapy is usually done along one or more of the acupuncture channels, in a direction away from the center of the body, in short brisk strokes until the surface of the skin is well reddened, but not broken.

When is it used?

Practitioners use dermal friction as a way of treating early stage colds and flu, muscle pain, headache, and fever. It is also frequently used as a home remedy in the treatment of fevers associated with colds and flu, and is especially favored in the treatment of children.

Side Effects?

Cupping is fairly safe, as long as you go to a trained health professional. But you could have these side effects in the area where the cups touch your skin:

Mild discomfort

Burns

Bruises

Skin infection

What does the research show?

There haven’t been many scientific studies on cupping.

One report, published in 2015 in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, notes that it could help with acne, herpes zoster, and pain management.

That’s similar to the findings from a 2012 report, published in PLoS One. Australian and Chinese researchers reviewed 135 studies on cupping. They concluded that cupping therapy may be effective when people also get other treatments, like acupuncture or medications, for various diseases and conditions, such as:

Herpes zoster

Acne

Facial paralysis

Cervical spondylosis

But those researchers noted many of the studies they reviewed could have been biased and that better studies are needed.

The British Cupping Society says that cupping therapy is used to treat:

Blood disorders such as anemia and hemophilia

Rheumatic diseases such as arthritis and fibromyalgia

Fertility and gynecological disorders

Skin problems such as eczema and acne

High blood pressure

Migraines

Anxiety and depression

Bronchial congestion caused by allergies and asthma

Varicose veins

There isn’t research to back all of that up.

What does the research show?

Talk with your doctor before you start cupping or any other type of alternative or complementary medicine. And talk extensively with your cupping therapist, too, before you try it. Ask:

What conditions do they use cupping for?

What is your training?

What is your experience in using it?

Am I already getting the standard treatments for my condition?

Are there reasons I should not get cupping?