What is cupping therapy?

Cupping therapy is a popular treatment option not only in Traditional Chinese Medicine but always all around the world. Cupping is universally recognised by the often-purple marks it leaves on the skin after having this treatment. There are many questions regarding cupping therapy and how it works. I often get asked out it works and what the benefits will be, how long the marks will last for and is blood always involved. I plan on answering some of these questions and providing some information about cupping that might take away the fear surrounding this controversial treatment option.

Cupping therapy did not originate in China however, it has deep roots in eastern Europe, the middle east, and Latin America. Hippocrates was known to use cupping for internal and external diseases in ~400BC and is highly regarded by Muhammad and used frequently in the Muslim traditions. These traditions have continued into modern practice and used all over Europe for a number of conditions and in the Muslim traditions it is known as Hijama and is a form of wet cupping used for spiritual healing. In China, it originated around 281-341AD and they often used bamboo shoots.

There are two common types of cupping therapy, wet and dry cupping. Wet cupping is the cupping they use in Hijama, a lancet is used to prick the skin to allow a small amount of blood and the cup is placed over this to draw more blood out. This is commonly used to extract toxins from the body that is stored in the blood. In TCM, wet cupping or blood cupping is used to move dead blood due to stagnation. This form of cupping is not as often used due to cross contamination and difficulty in cleaning cups after getting blood on them.

Dry cupping or commonly termed fire cupping is the most popular form of cupping therapy in China and TCM. It is termed fire cupping because a small flame is used to extract the oxygen out of a glass cup that is then placed on the skin to create a vacuum. The same process is often used in wet cupping however, there is no blood involved in dry/fire cupping. This process allows for increase blood flow beneath the skin and allows the old stagnate blood to move and for fresh blood to circulate through the muscles. This is what creates the purplish bruises known as cupping marks.

Cupping should never be painful or uncomfortable and the suction pressure should only ever be at a level you feel comfortable with. These cupping marks may be tender to touch after getting cupping therapy and there may be some pain afterwards this is because we are moving and trying to heal muscles. This pain should subside within a day and the marks can last commonly one week however; they can take up to 3 weeks. Not everyone that gets cupping with present with these purple marks, they can vary in colour depending on what is causing the discomfort causing the need for cupping.

Cupping therapy in TCM can be used for several conditions. It is commonly used for back pain caused by sore muscles. But however, can be used anywhere on the body that you can create that suction. It is beneficial for muscle pain has not been confirmed by modern

day science and testing due to the difficult nature of having an unbiased study. However, those that use cupping and swear by it will claim that is great for their muscle pains and helps them with their everyday life. In TCM it is also frequently used for common colds and removing pathogens from the body. The cupping is placed on certain acupuncture points to use them to help the body battle the pathogens inside the body. It can also be used on the stomach to help digestion and extract the cold from the umbilicus that may be hindering your digestive function.

It may take a day or two to feel relief or you may feel this relief as soon as you sit up from the treatment table. Everyone is different in their treatments and reactions to any treatment that is provided. This is an aspect of TCM that I personally love, the fact that everyone is treated differently depending on their presentation and cupping is no exception. I hope this has answered a few questions surrounding cupping therapy and gave you some inspiration to try it out for yourself. Cupping is not for everyone, but until you try it you cannot rid it of its benefits.