Tag: Cupping Therapy

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.

Cupping Therapy For The Treatment Of Pain And Digestive & Immunity Issues

Until recently, the alternative therapeutic method known as cupping therapy has never been heard of by most people living in the West. In China, however, this therapy has been widely used since 1000 B.C. In fact, ancient documents show that some forms of cupping practices are significantly older, reaching as far back as 3000 B.C.

The popularity of cupping therapy has a slew of health benefits that often eclipse the therapies of Western modern medicine.

What Is Cupping Therapy?

The Chinese consider cupping therapy a unique healing technique that has been passed down from one generation to the next. According to ancient Chinese documents, cupping was a popular way to treat conditions of the elite and royals and was initially practiced by Taoist medical physicians.

Throughout the years, cupping therapists have successfully treated a wide range of diseases and symptoms including pinched nerves, muscle spasms, back pains, colds, pulmonary tuberculosis, and many more that couldn’t be cured by conventional therapies. It has also been traditionally used in patients with anemia and other blood disorders, and people suffering from mental illnesses, fertility problems, arthritis, and other rheumatic diseases.

Although the longest history of cupping used in Asian countries like Korea, Japan, and China, was with the use of heat, a somewhat identical technique known as “wet cupping” has also been used for hundreds of years in Middle Eastern countries. Cupping therapy has recently become increasingly popular in the U.S. and other Western countries, as certain physicians have begun including acupuncture and cupping into the treatment plan of their patients in order to naturally relieve chronic infections, congestions, and symptoms without the need for medications. These days, this healing practice is offered in several holistic health centers, massage parlors, and in clinics that offer Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments.

Promoters of cupping are confident that the method helps eliminate toxins and adverse substances from the body that, in turn, strengthens immunity.

Does Cupping Therapy Really Work?

The Journal PLoS ONE published report in 2012 of a review involving 135 studies on cupping therapies featured between 1992 and 2010. The reviewers noted that cupping is more superior to the placebo effect because it produces positive results similar to herbal medicine and acupuncture in the treatment of a variety of inflammatory, hormonal, skin, and digestive diseases.

As with massage therapy and acupuncture in Walla Walla, one of the biggest advantages of trying cupping therapy over mainstream Western modalities is that these procedures are completely devoid of adverse unwanted side effects like surgery or pharmaceutical drugs do.

Actually, cupping and other alternative therapies have no downside to them since research has shown they can help strengthen immune function and cut down healing time without the use of herbs or drugs. The following are just some of the benefits provided by cupping therapy.

Five Cupping Therapy Benefits

As an alternative medical procedure, most of cupping therapy’s validity comes from its long history of use over the past three millennia. Cupping procedures have been extensively used to treat a wide spectrum of symptoms and disorders, either in combination with other alternative therapies or a standalone practice.

The use of cupping therapy is usually accompanied by acupuncture, essential oils, massage therapy, or even as a complementary treatment to Western medicine procedures.

Based on limited studies about cupping, what we do know is that it works by dilating the capillaries and boosting the amount of fluid coming in and out of the tissues. In addition, the therapy appears to trigger some form of relaxation response in some individuals, meaning it can help reduce unwanted effects.

Although we can find a mountain of anecdotal evidence that prove cupping is safe to use and works, there is scarce clinical evidence about its efficacy making it difficult to “prove” many of its benefits. Be that as it may, over the years, cupping has worked for millions of people. Below are some of the ways that cupping can be used to help you:

Cupping Has The Ability To Treat Colds And Respiratory Problems

Cupping therapy can help shorten healing time from respiratory diseases such as the common cold and flu as it’s commonly used to expel congestion or phlegm and help nourish the lungs. It can help enhance immune function by moving lymphatic fluid and blood throughout the body. This is because cupping has been known to treat lung diseases such as asthma infections, allergies and especially chronic coughs

One of the oldest applications of cupping therapy is in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis and other respiratory conditions long before prescription drugs came into being.

Cupping Helps Relieve Pain

Nowadays, people tend turn to alternative treatment methods because they’re looking for a safer way to reduce muscle pain and joint pain naturally. According to Evidence-Based Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, a report that reviewed scores of clinical randomized trials testing the efficacy of cupping therapy in patients with pain of any origin, showed that cupping reduced pain substantially in people suffering from low back aches and pains more so than the standard treatments for low back pain. Cupping therapy also brought about beneficial effects in the treatment of cancer pain compared to conventional painkillers and anticancer medications, and helped alleviate pain affiliated with respiratory diseases.

Cupping is believed to ease tight muscles and relax stiffness associated with fatigue, rheumatism, migraines, neck pains, and chronic back pains and release tissues deep within the body. Aside from boosting their performance in a natural way, some athletes have been known to receive cupping in order to lessen stiffness due to scar tissue caused by injuries, joint pains, and muscle cramps.

Cupping can treat soft tissue inflammation by administering local pressure to areas of swelling and sites of pain, increasing circulation in the capillaries and vessels. Cupping therapists utilize needles, suction, heat, and/or pressure below or above the area of injury, enabling chi or energy to move along the energy channels (meridians) that pass across the injury.

In order to reduce pain, the cups are usually applied over the following areas: around the lower back, on the neck (to relieve tension headaches over the fleshy part of the scapula or shoulder blades), and over the loins/groin.

Boosts Digestion

In Chinese medicine, cupping and acupuncture are the two most popular ways to alleviate symptoms and conditions like IBS or irritable bowel syndrome as well as to improve digestion. This is mainly due to the fact that the two modalities can lessen the stress response of a patient, which is very much connected to a healthy functioning digestive system.

Over the centuries, cupping therapy has been used by people suffering from water retention, gastrointestinal conditions, appetite loss, diarrhea, and frequent stomach pains. For problems related to the digestive system, cupping is usually administered in the following areas: over the abdomen, around the kidneys, over the bladder, and around the navel.

Enhances The Health Of The Skin

Although unknown to most people, cupping can actually be used to treat skin inflammation, acne, cellulite, and herpes. Although there is not enough clinical evidence to prove it can help people lose weight, what is known and proven is that cupping can firm and tone your skin by expanding the capillaries and increasing blood flow making it a closely guarded beauty secret among people in the spotlight and celebrities who want to have their skin toned naturally. As part of a cellulite or skin-clearing treatment, oil is initially often applied to the skin before the cups are suctioned and moved around, distributing heat to the treatment site along with various skin-healing substances based on the kind of oil used.

Since cupping helps reduce inflammation and improve blood flow, research has found it to be even more, or at least, as effective as antibiotics in treating acne. In a six study meta-analysis of acne treatment, the rate of cure of wet cupping therapy was superior to the rate of cure following use of ketoconazole, tetracycline, and tanshinone prescriptions.

Promotes Relaxation

This might appear counterintuitive, but since cupping has the ability to calm the central nervous system, it usually does relieve physical conditions and enables people to enter into a more relaxed state. This is the same with acupuncture, which people often assume is uncomfortable and hurts but actually appears to help reduce the patients’ stress levels and so can offer protection against depression and anxiety.

How can cupping generate relaxation in a person? During a cupping session, just the act of being “taken care of” and laying still can benefit a person’s psychological health, which could be why cupping is used to treat mental illnesses. The cups may need to remain attached to the body for around 20 minutes or so, once they are placed down and suctioned, which forces silence and stillness on patients who might otherwise lead frenetic lives. One other reason why cupping is relaxing is due to the fact that the cups help remove pressure in tight muscles, which produces a calming sensation just like being given a deep tissue massage.

The British Cupping Society believes that cupping therapy can safely treat a wide gamut of conditions that include:

Cellulite and varicose veins
Acne, eczema, herpes and other skin problems
Respiratory infections
Muscle stiffness and aches
Tension headaches and migraine
Depression, anxiety, and certain mental disorders
Joint pain caused by fibromyalgia and arthritis
Hypertension or high blood pressure
Asthma and food allergies
Gynecological disorders and infertility
Blood disorders such as hemophilia and anemia

Cupping Therapy Is A Versatile Modality That’s Used for A Range of Techniques

The effects that occur in cupping therapy are designed to cleanse the body of waste materials and toxins and to eliminate disease from the body. The bruises appearing on the skin are not really bruises like injured skin tissue, but are of dead blood coming to the skin surface. The more therapy is applied on a certain area, the healthier and lighter it becomes. The redness in the treatment area increased blood circulation in the area promoting healing. The techniques of cupping are varied. Patients have discovered that the process releases the tissue so much faster than using the hands. If there is a body part that is tough, I practitioners will administer pump release technique to speed it along. Cupping is basically the best way to stimulate circulation aside from loosening fascia and moving lymph for a faster recovery.

Cupping Therapy is an amazing ancient procedure that has found its rightful place in the modern world of healing. It is founded on the traditional way of performing Chinese cupping therapy, and the amazing outcomes that this facile and easy-to-perform treatment brings in have truly impressed patients who have felt its subtle power.

By generating negative pressure and suction, cupping therapy can be used to drain toxins and excess fluids by opening lymphatic pathways, soften tight muscles, tone attachments, increase blood flow and hydration to body tissues, lift connective tissue, and loosen adhesions. This modality has many applications and can be easily modified to accomplish a variety of techniques, from deep tissue release to lymphatic drainage. Cupping therapy can be used as an adjunct to several health modalities ranging from medical massage to spa treatments and physical therapy.

It makes the body feel invigorated and wakes it up whilst generating a deep sense of healing via the sedation of the nervous system.

Cupping therapy activates skin function by improving circulation while draining lymph and layers of fused tissue layers to produce a healthy skin glow and promote a smooth appearance.

It is designed to loosen adhesions and strengthen the muscles making it operate more independently and activate healthy excretion of built up debris in the systems, organs, and tissues.

History of Cupping

Over time, cupping therapy evolved from the initial use of hollowed out animal horns to remove toxins out of skin lesions and snakebites. The horns were eventually replaced with bamboo cups that were then replaced with glass. Healing applications progressed with the upgrade of the cup itself, and with the societies that used cupping as a health care procedure method. The real origins of cupping therapy remain a mystery.

The Chinese augmented its applications to include surgical use to deflect circulation from the site of surgery. Eventually, the process developed into a distinct therapy, with practitioners able to heal a gamut of conditions. Ancient documents dating back 28 A.D. states that with cupping and acupuncture in Cleveland, “more than 50 percent of illnesses can be cured”. Chinese medicine practitioners state that cupping clears chi and blood stagnation, and addresses external pathogenic elements that infiltrate a weak constitution. A deficient constitution is usually caused by an exhausted original essence or “Jing Chi”. This usually leads to a weakened defense (immune function) or“Wei Chi”.

The Egyptians gathered a number of documents on ancient medicine that talked about the use of cupping for conditions such as a weakened appetite, menstrual imbalances vertigo, pain, fever. The ancient Egyptians introduced cupping to ancient Greece, where it was eventually disseminated to ancient societies in many European countries and even in the States. Recently, American and European doctors use cupping in practice. Medical papers that were written in the 19th century and a combined effort between the former Soviet Union and communist China proved the clinical results of cupping therapy. In all Chinese hospitals, the technique became an official healing practice. For lactation problems and inflamed breasts, breast cupping became a treatment of choice for many people. The well-known breast pump was invented from this. As machines and technology came into use in the 20^th century, it led to a decline in interest in the use of this technique. Cupping sets were carried by medical supply companies well into the 1940?s and pumps were introduced that could create a vacuum.

Chinese Medicine Cupping Therapy

Cupping therapy is one of the oldest and most used globally natural medical treatment in history. It has been used for thousands of years in China, but in ancient Greece, Egypt, the Middle East and Europe, as well. In ancient times, bamboo, clay cups or even animal horns were initially used. Nowadays, the most common types used in clinical practice are glass cups, which requires a flame to create a vacuum effect before the cup is placed on the skin.

Plastic cups require a gun to draw the skin into it, and silicon cups are easy to use by just squeezing them with the fingers. The functions and benefits of cupping therapy in Bellmore include moving blood and improving circulation, for muscle tension and stiffness, arthritis, sports injury, fibromyalgia and more. Cupping is also used for women’s issues, especially for menstruation pain.

It also helps expel external pathogens to relieve colds and flus. It also can help patients with asthma, bronchitis and allergies. Cupping is a great detoxifier and is used often for hangovers. It is also used for lymphatic drainage and for those have a lot of water retention, edema and toxicity. Finally, it is fantastic for releasing fascia for those with a lot of pain and stiffness.

The most common applications of cupping therapy are fixed cupping, whereby a single or multiple cups are placed on the painful area or on an acupuncture point, and are retained for 5 to 15 minutes. Quick cupping is a technique in which cups are placed on an acupuncture point and removed immediately, then repeated many times over.

This is often used on very weak and severely deficient people. Oiling a large area and moving the cup back and forth while the suction is in effect is often used for fascia release and lymphatic drainage. With little cupping, is placed over a needle, which has been inserted in an acupuncture point. That is used to enhance the action of the point.

Finally, wet cupping, where a cup is placed over an acupuncture point that has been pricked by a Lancet needle prior to cupping it, and then drawing blood from the body with a cup. This is used mostly to detoxify. Cupping therapy should be performed by a qualified practitioner and it is not recommended on sensitive or broken skin or also for people with excess hair, especially, moving cupping or firing cupping, as well as on the number or abdominal region of pregnant women.

And yes, cupping therapy may result in bruises, which generally dissipates within 3 to 10 days.

Cupping Therapy Enhances Circulation That Leads To The Alleviation Of Dysfunction And Pain

Many acupuncture clinics throughout the US offer cupping treatments that is often integrated with herbal medicine treatments in Miami and Chinese acupuncture in order to provide the best healthcare service for the patient.

In traditional Chinese medicine, cupping therapy is one of the oldest modes of treatment that’s used to animate the flow of chi and blood, which may have become congested in the energy channels (meridians) or muscles. The suction effect from the cups helps draw stagnant toxins and/or stagnant blood to the surface of the skin thereby enhancing circulation leading to the alleviation of dysfunction and pain.

Traditional Chinese Cupping Treatment Procedure

Plastic and glass cups are used in acupuncture clinics that offer cupping therapy. A cotton ball soaked in alcohol and lit is placed skillfully and quickly inside the cups to warm them. The tiny fire exhausts all the oxygen inside the cup creating a vacuum effect in the cup that draws some of the underlying tissue and the skin tightly toward the cup. For plastic cups, a suction pump is used to create the vacuum and the cups are then placed on the skin.

The suction of the cups creates a feeling of tightness in the patient when applied on the skin. This feeling can be modified to the comfort of the patient. Once in place, the cups are left tightly stuck to the skin for about five to 10 minutes. The practitioner can also opt to use a technique called “running cup” in which the cups are slid over the surface of the skin (after the skin has been applied with oil). These two methods produce a purplish or reddish bruise that typically takes a few days to recede.

In some severe and acute conditions, prior to cupping, the practitioner will puncture the skin. When cupping is then performed and the skin is drawn, a few drops of blood may flow out from the site of the puncture. This is a very quick and efficient way to eliminate toxins and other harmful substances from the body.

The practitioner will explain to you the effects of cupping therapy before giving the procedure. Before the treatment, your practitioner will ask your permission to proceed.

The Benefits of Chinese Cupping Therapy

There are several medical conditions that cupping can effectively address. They include skin conditions (psoriasis, acne eczema), gynecological disorders, infertility, rheumatic diseases (muscular and arthritic joint conditions), blood disorders (hemophilia and anemia), and respiratory diseases (bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, and the common cold). Cupping can be ideal for general psychological and physical and can be used on the shoulders, neck, and back to treat a wide range of musculoskeletal problems.

What One Can Expect from Cupping Therapy

One of the most effective modalities of traditional Chinese medicine is cupping therapy. This ancient Oriental technique has been practiced in China and various countries of East Asia for thousands of years to help improve the health of the body and address a number of conditions. Cupping is often used by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners to treat blood and energy (Qi) stagnation caused by several factors including various illnesses and physical injury. It also is used to address gastrointestinal conditions, resolve depression, relieve lower back pain, heal arthritic pain, treat respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma, wash away toxins from the body and remove heat.

Cupping is a procedure that is designed to relieve muscle spasms in the deepest tissues in the body and remove toxins from the body. Our body cells need oxygen to live. As they take in oxygen, they take out out carbon dioxide from the body at the same time. When blood and energy circulation stagnate due to a blockage in one of their pathways, the cells will be unable to remove carbon dioxide in the body. These result in toxin or acid build up and the cell dies. When there is blockage in one or more energy pathways, pain usually is felt in the area where the blockage is located. When the dead cells and/or toxins remain in the joints or muscles, it causes the rest of the toxins and dead cells to accumulate in the body resulting in further pain and blockage. The body may not have the adequate means to get rid of these waste materials, and so it needs a little help from detoxifying techniques such as cupping. Cupping helps suck or vacuum out the blockages in the middle and deepest layers of muscle tissues forcing the toxins out to the surface of the skin. Once on the surface, the practitioner can easily cleanse out the toxins. This ancient procedure eliminates toxins from the blood vessels, as well. A typical cupping procedure takes about 10 minutes. Not only are the toxins removed but the body is resupplied with clean, new and fresh blood and the energy level of the body is boosted, as well.

The results often are impressive after a cupping procedure. It can lead to positive changes in a short period of time as it is powerful enough to cleanse the deepest layers of the body. Cupping can have a profound effect on the intensity and speed of long-term healing for many health problems.

Dr. Vickery is a licensed acupuncturist in Tarzana, CA., and the founder and clinical director of Vickery Health and Wellness.