The Three Forms Of Cupping Therapy Commonly Used Today

First discussed in old medical textbooks in the Western world, cupping therapy is an alternative type of therapy and like acupuncture in Winter Park is better known as a traditional Chinese Medicine mode of treatment.

Cupping therapy was first practiced by the ancient Egyptians. Hippocrates has also given accounts of the use of cupping for the treatment of internal disease. The most commonly used cupping technique is fire cupping which is practiced all across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Ancient cupping practitioners used hollowed out buffalo horns for their treatments of skin lesions, snakebites, and boils. This method was believed to draw toxins out from the body. The administration of cupping through the years has developed from the utilization of animal horns to cups made of bamboo, and to the glass cups, that we eventually use today. Healing cups made from silicone and earthenware are also used in lieu of glass cups. Silicone cups can withstand the high temperatures that applied during the heating process.

There a number of different cultures who also used cupping therapy as a way to resolve several maladies. In their surgical procedures, the Chinese were alleged to have used cupping as a way to alter the flow of blood from the site of operation. Some European and US physicians use cupping to address common illnesses such as the chest congestion and infection and the common cold.

The therapy mainly entails placement of silicone or glass on the skin of the patient to generate a suction effect to make the blood move toward to the skin surface in areas where the body needs healing. Practitioners of TCM or Traditional Chinese medicine focus on different meridians or energy channels of the body that are used to move energy from part of the body to another. According to them, the human body possesses a dozen of these meridians and treatment may be administered applied to each meridian for a variety of reasons.

A type of medical treatment used in place of mainstream treatments or modern scientific medicine and conventional practices, alternative medicine claims to generate healing benefits which other types of medicinal systems are unable to provide. This type of medicinal system is rapidly gaining more and more followers by the day since it has been shown to bring about the same healing effects as mainstream Western medicine minus the risk of side effects.

Different Forms of Cupping

The three most common traditional types of cupping used today are massage cupping, wet cupping, and fire or dry cupping.

• Massage Cupping

This method is a form of massage therapy in which the practitioner/healer glides and moves the cups around and across your skin. Massage Cupping is an effective way to reduce cellulite in your body and to lose weight. Silicone cups are usually the cups selected for this procedure as they are more flexible and softer making it easier for the practitioner/healer to smoothly move glide them across the body of the patient.

Massage cupping therapy, softens the muscles through the application of pressure. Pain can be much better managed by using negative pressure instead if the use of tissue compression.  Through this method, the muscles, tissue, and skin, are pulled upwards instead to help manage the pain and to increase circulation.

Different oils are used in this form of therapy in order for the cup to smoothly glide and slide across the patient’s back. Massage cupping is a good and safe way to help relieve stress and ease tension, induce feelings of relaxation and help with the management of pain.

• Wet Cupping

Wet cupping creates a mild vacuum or suction and can be kept in place for up to three minutes. However, in this technique, the practitioner/healer will need to make a few small cuts on the skin of the patient. This is done through a sterilized scalpel and then the practitioner will need to perform a second cupping procedure to suction out some of the patient’s blood. After a session of wet cupping therapy, it may take 10 days more or less, for the skin of the patient to heal completely. To prevent the risk of infection, the skin should be cleaned before and after a wet cupping procedure.

To the Arabs, wet cupping is known as medicinal bleeding or Hijama. This therapy is commonly administered popular in many Muslim areas of the world and legend has it that it’s been used by the prophet Mohammed.

The cupping methods used by the Chinese are designed to treat respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and pneumonia, along with chest infections and the common cold.

Wet cupping involves some bloodletting in order to expel stagnant blood and heat, in order to alleviate pain. To prevent infection, to the areas of treatment, it’s vital that the clinical setting where this therapy is performed be sterilized and clean.

• Fire or Dry Cupping Therapy

In a dry cupping procedure, the glass cup is heated using flammable materials such as herbs or alcohol. As the fire weakens, the practitioner/healer places the glass cup on the skin surface of the patient.

The weakening of the fire causes the cup to cools down creating a suction or vacuum effect inside the cup. The practitioner quickly places the cup on the patient’s skin. The skin is drawn to the cup and will start to turn red. Usually, these silicone or glass cups are left in place on the skin for about 3 minutes although some procedures may need longer times and may last for up to 20 minutes.

This type of therapy creates a low amount of pressure and is much better used on the soft tissue in order to create a tight seal on the skin. The practitioner may first lubricate the skin with massage oil so the cups can be easily moved around across the body.