If you’ve ever seen an athlete with odd-looking circles on their arms or legs, there’s a good chance that they’ve recently undergone a session of cupping therapy. While it’s become trendy in recent years, cupping therapy is far from new. It dates back to ancient Chinese medicine. People use cupping therapy for a wide range of purposes including help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being and deep-tissue massage.
Cupping may be done in either wet or dry varieties, but in both cases, the therapist will put a flammable substance such as alcohol, herbs or paper in a cup and set it on fire. Soon after the fire has gone out, the cups are inverted and placed upon the skin. As the air inside the cup cools, it creates a vacuum, pulling against the skin causing it to rise and redden as the blood vessels expand. The cups are generally left in place for around 3 minutes before being removed. More modern versions use a rubber pump instead of fire to create the vacuum.
It’s normal for 3-5 cups to be applied with 5-7 being used in rarer applications. Once the procedure is complete, the skin will retain it’s discolored appearance in the area where the cups were applied, but should return to normal between 5-10 days after the procedure.
To learn more about cupping or our acupuncture services, contact our offices in Los Gatos, CA and let us know how we can help you.