What is Cupping Therapy?
Cupping is the application of suction to the body.
Negative pressure, rather than tissue compression is superior for bodywork for pain, stubborn conditions, repetitive strains, inflammation, toxicity, chronic fatigue, digestive problems and a slew of other issue we confront as we grow older.
Suction cups rapidly facilitate rigid soft tissue release, loosens & lifts connective tissue, breaks up and drains stagnation while increasing blood & lymph flow to skin & muscles in ways not possible using compression.
Another benefit of Cupping is that it can feel really great when done properly for your constitution and current physiology and/or condition. The pulling action engages the parasympathetic nervous system, thus allowing a deep relaxation to move through the entire body. It is not unusual to fall asleep when receiving this treatment. You will be surprised at how relaxed, warm and light you'll feel – hours... sometimes even days afterwards.
Nowadays, health practitioners of many modalities are using Cupping to assist them in providing more effective methods for healing and recovery. Massage Therapists, Acupuncturists, Physiotherapists, Sports Therapists, Nurses, & Doctors.
Cupping is a powerful detoxifying, pain relieving and energy building modality that people all over the world use for health maintenance. But there are also a huge number of conditions that respond positively to Cupping
Benefits to the Recipient
- Deep tissue work and release without discomfort
- Moves stagnation and drains fluids
- Relieves Inflammation
- Nervous System Sedation
- Breaks Up and Expels Congestion
- Stretches Muscle and Connective Tissues
- Loosens Adhesions
- Pulls blood supply to the Skin
- Facilitates the movement of Qi and Blood systemically and locally
- Dispels wind, damp and cold to treat muscle and joint pain, stiffness, and arthritis
- Strengthens the immune system by promoting the flow of lymphatic fluid
- Treats excess heat conditions, fever, stress, depression and anxiety
- Cleans the blood and lymph and helps to balance PH levels
The suction created by cupping pulls stagnant fluids to the surface, removes toxic pathogens and promotes fresh oxygenated, nutrient rich blood & lymph
Conditions Responding to Cupping Therapy
•Colds & Influenza
•Headaches
•Abscesses
•Arthritis
•Intercostal Neuralgia
•Intestinal disorders
•Hemorrhoids
•Sciatica
•Rheumatism
•High blood pressure, stroke and arteriosclerosis
•Bronchial asthma & congestion
•Gynecological disorders
•Kidney disorders (including frequent/urgent urination)
•Dispels colds and respiratory infections
•Relieves gastrointestinal symptoms such as stomachache, vomiting and diarrhea
•Liver disorders
•Gallbladder disorders
•Dermatological disorders
•Depression
•Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Anxiety & insomnia
•Post-injury trauma
•Post-surgery adhesions
• Cellulite
•Muscular-skeletal problems: pain, spasms, cramps, tightness, numbness, stiffness of the back and neck
•Chronic gastric pain
•Vertigo
•Menopausal discomforts
• Activates the skin, clears stretch marks and wrinkles and improves varicose veins
On the deeper therapeutic level, Cupping is very beneficial for many conditions such as high blood pressure, anxiety, fatigue, chronic headache, fibromyalgia and neuralgia. Contracted, congested muscle tissue will soften quickly with only a few minutes of Negative Pressure Massage Cupping.
Cumulative Cupping treatments increase muscle endurance, circulation, lung capacity, lymphatic drainage and health maintenance during strenuous activities. Many professional athletes incorporate it into their training to enhance their overall performance, agility and ability to recover from their sports.
CONTRAINDICATIONS FOR CUPPING
Cupping is contraindicated in cases of severe diseases, i.e. cardiac failure, renal failure, ascites due to hepato-cirrhosis and severe edema, as well as hemorrhagic diseases such as allergic pupura, hemophilia and leukemia, and clients with dermatitis, destruction of skin, or allergic dermatitis. Cupping should not be applied on the portion where hernia exists or has occurred in the past. For pregnant women, the lower abdomen, medial leg and lumbosacral region should be avoided.
NO MAGNETS – COMPUTER/ELECTRICAL IMPLANTS – PACEMAKERS OR INSULIN MONITORS OR TRANSDERMAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM
AVOID – FERROUS METAL JOINT, BONE REPLACEMENTS OR PLATES, SCREWS OR BOLTS
HEAD – REMOVE HEARING AIDS
Broken bones
Dislocations
Hernias
Slipped discs
Organ failure
Undergoing cancer therapies
Sunburned
Ruptured
Ulcerated
Inflamed
Fever
Convulsion
Easy bleeding
PG – wait till 2nd trimester
NURSING – PUMP 2 DAYS MILK BEFORE, HYDRATE & WAIT A FEW DAYS BEFORE COMMENCE
Liver or kidney illness
Cardiopathy
3 D Varicosities
Systemic Cancers
Surgical incisions (recent)
REDUCE TIME – blood thinners, hemophiliacs (high or low blood pressure), diabetes
Exhausted, hungry, emotionally upset (crying or angry)
Psoriasis, eczema or rosacea
Hives, herpes or shingles
What to Expect from a Cupping Session
The after effects of Cupping are most intense at the beginning of receiving treatments, and lessen dramatically as your system becomes accustomed to the treatments as they cumulate. Besides the effects Cupping provides for specific conditions, injuries and illnesses, some of the general after effects include:
• The need for sleep
• Intense hunger (munchies)
• No appetite
• Similar to post deep tissue massage
• Nausea
• Euphoria
• Feelings of being "hung over"
•Increased bowel elimination
• Stronger body odor (detox)
• "Best night’s sleep in years"
• Inability to sleep
• Vivid dreams
• Night sweats
• Heightened senses (smell, sight, sound)
• Craving for certain foods
• Thirst and cotton mouth
• Emotional release
• Stronger than normal bowel & urine odors
• Skin surface warmer than normal
• Chills
• Restless (wanting to clean, organize, etc.)
• Soreness, like after strenuous exercise
• Feeling of reduced mass, increased height
• Headachy
Marks or Discolorations from Cupping Therapy
One of the common and unfortunate misconceptions concerning cupping is the misinterpretation of the discoloration.
Many think these marks are bruising. “Bruising” is caused by impact trauma with breakage of capillaries and reactionary rush of fluids to the damaged area from the tissue compression/injury.
Discoloration can occur as the Cupping session draws up dead cellular debris, poisons, stagnation and excess fluids to the surface leaving these deposits under the skin for the lymphatic & circulatory systems to drain it away.
Often, when a condition exists within deeper structures where sufficient pathologic factors and stagnant fluids (toxins, blood and lymph) are dredged up during treatment, discoloration will appear on the skin. This is the therapeutically desired effect – the more this is visible, the greater the level of stagnation and toxicity.
The discoloration will fade over a few days. As treatments cumulate and the release of stagnation and buildup has been thixolated, dispersed and drained – (usually by the 3rd or 4th treatment) no discoloration is likely to occur at all. Even though each time the cupping may have been focused on the same area for the same duration and with the same amount of negative pressure. This is clearly the result of having internal unwanted toxins systematically purged.
Discoloration can be minimized by shortening the treatment.
For more information & photos see: http://cuppingtherapy.org/pages/discolorations.htm
History of Cupping
The specific origin of Cupping Therapy remains in obscurity - the consensus is that the action of suction has been part of therapeutic efforts throughout human history, migrating with human tribes along migratory routes. These ancient cultures used hollowed out animal horns, bones, bamboo, nuts, seashells and gourds to purge bites, pustules, infections and skin lesions from the body, and many are still in use today. Ancient healers also used Cupping devices to draw evil spirits out of the body and to balance the humors. Earthenware and metal were fashioned into Cupping vessels before the development of glass.
Cupping therapy was used in Egypt dating back some 3,500 years, where its use is represented in hieroglyphic writing. The earliest recorded use of Cupping is from the famous Taoist alchemist and herbalist, Ge Hong (281–341 A.D.). In ancient Greece, Hippocrates recommended the use of cups for a variety of ailments, while in the early 1900’s eminent British physician, Sir Arthur Keith, wrote how he witnessed Cupping performed with excellent success.
Suction Cup Therapies remained a constant in professional medical treatment throughout Europe. It was practiced by such famous physicians as Galen (131-200AD), Paracelsus(1493-1541), Ambroise Pare (1509-90) and surgeon Charles Kennedy (1826).
In China, extensive research has been carried out on Cupping, and the practice is a mainstay of government-sponsored hospitals of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The fundamental therapeutic value of Cupping has been documented through several thousand years of clinical and subjective experience and has advanced its application to many areas.
Women healers in communities throughout the world practiced the use of suction to purge, stimulate and heal, passing down their knowledge to apprentices and as family tradition. Cross cultural studies show that Women represented a major source and influence as healers in many cultures, with people traveling for days to reach a well-known healer. Reliable sources hold that Cupping throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia was usually performed by the Women in the communities. By the thirteenth century, however, universities including Biomedical studies in their curriculums excluded Women. Despite the fact that non-official "folk" medicine has been poorly represented, Women would have continued to play a major role in health care delivery. Had they been allowed to participate in the higher education arena, their contributions in natural healing modalities, and especially the safe and effective use and continuity of Cupping practices, would have been more substantial than by their male counterparts.
By the mid 1800's, the Western Medical Establishment had imposed upon society, their scientific model of medicine, defining medicine by making the body transparent, focusing on and treating the inside, in preference to the outside. Because Cupping (along with many other Holistic Healing Arts) was a surface treatment, it was inconsistent with this new Biomedical paradigm, which moved away from hands on personal contact and manipulative therapies of generations past.
Although the use of Cupping has remained popular throughout many cultures worldwide, the 20th century witnessed its widespread decrease in many Anglo-Saxon societies. Even the North American Indians used Buffalo Horn, seashells, gourds and bones for Cupping, but as their culture was decimated and its people herded into reservations, their traditions of health maintenance and healing were also lost.
Benefits
Since the techniques use negative pressure, rather than tissue compression, superior bodywork ranging from MFR and deep tissue work to MLD is easily accomplished. The suction of the cups rapidly facilitates rigid soft tissue release by stretching it up from underlying structures, thus loosening areas of adhesion or restriction, activating muscle spindle reflexes that relax contractile tissue and retraining the myofascia structures. Further, it stimulates the nervous system reflex to the cerebral cortex, contributing to an increased rate of recovery from pain and disease.
The effects are remarkable on hypertonicity and aching muscles and activate the secretion of synovial fluids, which release joint stiffness in ways not possible using the pressure of traditional massage. It concurrently creates localized expansion of tissue, producing a profound vasodilatation reaction - drawing blood flow to areas of ischemic pain, raising skin temperature, promoting metabolism within the skin tissue for better functioning of sweat and sebaceous glands, flushing capillary beds, draining stagnant blood, toxins and lymph, and re-supplying vital nutrients.
Its use in beauty therapy is based around promoting hormone production, encouraging blood and the secretion of digestive fluids and increased peristaltic movements in the bowels and internal organs, thus removing harmful toxins that speed up the ageing process and other degenerative conditions. Another effective application of the cupping technique is in the treatment of cellulite. A very light suction provides drainage, while heavier application can be used to stimulate circulation and loosen adhesions or “dimpling.” The thighs and hip region should be cupped prior to a wrapping procedure to enhance the absorption of topical products. Another application of Negative Pressure Massage include an extraordinary face lift and drainage treatment and the addition of new equipment that include negative and positive polarity magnet make Biomagnetic Therapy potentials tremendous
Disclaimer
Information on this site is provided for informational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. As a non-medical practitioner, if you have or suspect that you have a medical problem; promptly contact your health care provider. Information and statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Circle of Light
Billings, Montana