Cupping Therapy
One of the services that we provide alongside acupuncture is cupping therapy. It’s a powerful way to reduce pain, encourage relaxation, and to improve wellbeing.
What is Cupping Therapy?
Cupping is a wonderful treatment technique that helps to ease pain, inflammation, and stress. It involves placing cups on the skin to create a suction. It's been used as a treatment for thousands of years, with origins in Chinese, Egyptian, and Middle Eastern cultures. It's believed that even Ghenis Khan was a huge advocate.
By creating a vacuum, and hence the suction, cupping helps the body to heal. It improves the circulation of blood blow to local areas whilst helping to remove toxins within the body.
Why is Cupping Therapy Used?
Cupping therapy can be used to address a wide variety of conditions. This includes everything from chronic pain, respiratory issues, and digestive disorders to stress-related problems and more.
How does it help?
Relieving muscle tension: Cupping is often used to treat back, neck, and shoulder pain. These areas are prone to holding tension, which leads to stagnation within the blood flow. Cupping helps to release this tension and reduce stiffness.
Improve circulation: The suction created by the cups is believed to enhance blood flow. The process can start with cupping to target a large but general area. Acupuncture can then be used to target more specific tight spots or energetics. The combination of both is really powerful.
Promote relaxation: Many of my patients find cupping to be profoundly relaxing. Despite the initial soreness, the overall effects can be profound. Patients often return to the clinic just for cupping and its relaxing benefits, a testament to its soothing nature.
Detoxify the body: I believe that cupping can help remove toxins from the body, including supporting the lymphatic fluids, by creating the suction we've discussed. By drawing blood to the surface, the body can more easily release toxins through the skin to relieve pain.
Cupping has a wide range of benefits. It can improve blood circulation, support our immune system, and promote healing.
"Over the years I have had a number of acupuncture and cupping treatments and Josh excels in this area. I've been seeing Josh for a few months now with a bad back and he always gives me confidence and some comfort from his treatments. He's a very nice chap and always friendly and helpful. Highly recommended and takes time and his treatments"
— Jason
A Little More on Cupping
Different Techniques of Cupping
Within cupping, we tend to focus on dry cupping. Outside of this, there are different techniques but they have slightly different set-ups and outcomes.
Silicone Cupping: This style offers the most controlled approach, as practitioners can precisely adjust the suction power. It is often used for patients who are more sensitive or require a gentler treatment.
Fire Cupping: A traditional and exciting method that uses flames to create suction on the skin. Fire cupping is highly effective and enjoyable for practitioners, but it tends to be stronger and more intense, making it best suited for patients who can tolerate deeper stimulation.
Moving Cupping: Typically combined with fire cupping, this technique involves moving the cups across the skin after they are applied. This method covers a larger surface area, provides a massage-like effect, and helps improve blood circulation in the treated region.
Stationary Cupping: In some cases, moving the cups isn’t practical or beneficial for the patient. Stationary cupping involves leaving the cups in place for a set duration. Depending on the desired effect, this may range from a short application to a " flash cupping technique," where the cups are applied and removed quickly for a lighter treatment.
These all provide different sensations for the patient. However, every patient can feel something slightly different. Patients often find it quite warming or even tingling, with a general tightness in the area before it relaxes.
Benefits of Cupping Therapy
Cupping therapy offers a variety of potential benefits, which can vary depending on the condition being treated:
Pain relief: It is commonly used for all forms of musculoskeletal pain including back, neck and shoulder pain. It’s also used a lot for things like headaches and migraines. It’s uses are wide ranging.
Reduced inflammation: By promoting blood flow in a broad sense, cupping can be used to reduce inflammation and swelling in injured areas. Sometimes we might not want to needle the area of acute conditions so we would use cupping and needle more distally.
Enhanced athletic performance: Increasing amounts of athletes use cupping to recover faster from training and competitions. I can attest to this as a triathlete - it always helps me by reducing muscle soreness and stiffness. I love it after a big race or event.
Improved skin health: It can be used to help reduce acne, cellulite, and stretch marks. This is through improving circulation to the skin.
Stress reduction: The relaxing effects of cupping can reduce anxiety and improve general health and well-being.
Research on Cupping
There is less scientific research on how effective cupping is. Partly this is because we incorporate cupping into an acupuncture session rather than being used as a standalone treatment.
However several studies have shown positive results despite the research being in it’s infancy. A review published in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine highlighted that cupping can effectively reduce chronic pain, particularly in musculoskeletal conditions like back pain, which is one of the most common use cases. Another study in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine suggested that cupping may help improve immune function and reduce inflammation.
More high-quality, controlled studies are needed to fully understand the benefits and mechanisms of cupping therapy. Until then, we can only go off the countless patients who have seen huge improvements from this form of treatment.
What Can Cupping Tell Us?
Cupping can also provide valuable insights into the body’s internal condition, and environment, by observing how the skin reacts to the treatment. I assess the colour, and intensity, of the marks left on the skin:
Darker marks: These may indicate a higher level of toxins, or stagnation of the blood, in the tissues. This looks much more painful than lighter marks but proves that the area requires increased blood flow and healing.
Lighter marks: These are often seen as a sign that the body is functioning more efficiently in that area. There is less tension held in these spots so it becomes less of a focus on the following treatments. While these marks are not harmful and usually fade within a few days, their appearance can offer clues about the body’s overall health.
Hence cupping functions as both a treatment but also as a diagnostic indicator.
Famous People Who Have Used Cupping Therapy
Cupping therapy has become much more mainstream in recent years, partly due to its use by high-profile athletes and celebrities. Notable examples include:
Michael Phelps: The Olympic swimmer famously sported visible cupping marks on his back and shoulders during the 2016 Rio Olympics. Phelps has used cupping therapy to aid in muscle recovery and relieve tension after intense training sessions. In the most recent olympics, cupping has been seen on many more athletes.
Jennifer Aniston: The actress has been seen with cupping marks on her back, suggesting she uses the therapy for relaxation and possibly skin health.
Gwyneth Paltrow: She’s already well-known for her advocacy of alternative medicine therapies like acupuncture. But Paltrow has also openly discussed her use of cupping for stress relief and overall well-being.
Conor McGregor: The UFC fighter has been photographed going through a session of cupping therapy as part of his recovery regime after a fight. It’s believed he uses it for injury prevention and to aid recovery of sore muscles.
I am sure we can add you to this growing list of people who swear by famous people.
The History of Cupping
The history of cupping spans thousands of years and encompasses various cultures and civilizations. Ancient Egyptian texts from around 1550 BCE depict cupping as a therapeutic method used to treat a range of ailments. The Egyptians employed cupping alongside other healing practices, believing it could draw out harmful substances and restore balance within the body. From Egypt, cupping spread to ancient Greece, where the renowned physician Hippocrates advocated its use for a wide range of conditions. The Greeks introduced variations in cupping techniques, using both hot and cold cups for therapeutic purposes.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), cupping has been an integral part of healing practices for over 2,000 years. It is documented in ancient Chinese medical texts, such as the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), which emphasized the importance of balancing Qi (vital energy) to maintain health. Cupping was used to stimulate Qi flow, dispel stagnation, and treat various ailments. Over time, Chinese cupping techniques evolved, incorporating different materials such as bamboo, bronze, and ceramic, and later transitioning to glass cups with the advent of glassmaking techniques.
Cupping also became part of Islamic medicine during the medieval period, particularly during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization. Prominent Islamic physicians, such as Avicenna, wrote about cupping's benefits and recommended it for treating a wide range of conditions. The practice spread further through trade routes, reaching Europe during the Renaissance. Although cupping's popularity declined in the Western world with the rise of modern medicine, it has experienced a revival in recent times, gaining recognition as a complementary therapy for various health conditions. Today, cupping continues to be practiced and appreciated globally, blending ancient wisdom with modern techniques.