What is Cupping Therapy and How Does it Work?

Let’s talk about cupping. By now, you’ve probably seen professional athletes on TV sporting large circular bruises on their skin. I believe it was Michael Phelps who sparked curiosity about the technique while showing off his cupping marks during the Olympics. 

At first glance, the marks can look startling and painful, but cupping is a therapy that is commonly used to help athletes ease their muscle pain, or heal more quickly from an injury. 

But cupping isn’t just for athletes. The therapy has really grown in popularity; so much so that I’ve been teaching a lot of other functional massage therapists how to use the ancient technique to help their clients. If you have tight or overworked muscles, cupping can be a helpful addition to your treatment plan (even if you’re not an Olympic athlete).

What is Cupping? 

Cupping is an ancient Chinese technique that has been around for hundreds of years. The idea behind the technique is to trigger the body’s natural healing abilities by encouraging blood flow to the injured or painful area. 

How does it work?

There are a few different cupping techniques that therapists tend to use. For one technique, a glass cup is heated with fire using alcohol, which is placed directly into the cup. The fire source is removed, and the heated cup is placed with the open side directly on your skin. The use of glass cups is a little bit old school. 

Personally, I use plastic cups, which are placed directly on the skin. In order to get the suction effect, a gun-like tool is used to pump the tissue into the cup.

 Silicone cups are also very popular with massage therapists because they are inexpensive and easy to clean. The cups are placed on the skin over an area of discomfort or injury. The cup creates a plunger-like suction and pulls blood to the surface of skin. 

Sometimes, with all techniques, the cups are left in place, and other times, your therapist will move them over the skin to cover more ground. 

No matter what cupping technique is used, the increased blood flow encourages healing and removes stagnation from the area. Cupping can also be used to release stubborn trigger points and break down scar tissue. 

Suffer from frequent congestion or illness? Increasing blood flow throughout the body with cupping therapy can help decrease congestion and even help the body fight off certain illnesses. 

Now, it must be said that cupping isn’t always the most comfortable process. Depending on the level of stagnation, the cups can cause some discomfort during the therapy process. But those big circular hickeys you’re left with look more painful than they actually are. They do last for about two weeks, but usually aren’t painful after a session is complete. 

Do you have questions about cupping therapy? Or maybe, you’ve benefited from cupping in the past, and you want to add it to your treatment plan. Contact me today! I’d be happy to answer any of your questions, or schedule your first appointment.