Medical Cupping
What is Cupping?
Cupping is the term utilized for a technique that involves warming the air inside small glass, metal, or wooden cups and inverting it over a part of the body to treat various health conditions.
What is involved in Cupping Therapy?
Traditional Cupping
In a traditional cupping session, glass cups are warmed using a cotton ball or other flammable substance, which is soaked in alcohol, let, then placed inside the cup. Burning a substance inside the cup removes all the oxygen, which creates a vacuum.
Modern Cupping Practice
At Luz de Vida, we utilize modern cupping techniques. In a modern cupping session instead of creating a vacuum through heat, modern cupping sets use glass or plastic cups equipped with one-way valves. As the cups are placed on the patient, a hand-held pump draws out the air through the valves. The clarity of the glass allows the practitioner to gauge the intensity of the suction and evaluate the energy level of the patient.
Once the suction has occurred, the cups can be gently moved across the skin (often referred to as "gliding" cupping). The suction in the cups causes the skin and superficial muscle layer to be lightly drawn into the cup. Cupping is much like the inverse of massage - rather than applying pressure to muscles, it uses gentle pressure to pull them upward. For most patients, this is a particularly relaxing and relieving sensation. Once suctioned, the cups are generally left in place for about ten minutes while the patient relaxes. This is similar to the practice of Tui Na, a traditional Chinese medicine massage technique that targets acupuncture points as well as painful body parts, and is well known to provide relief through pressure. Generally, cupping is combined with acupuncture in one treatment, but it can also be used alone.
What conditions is Cupping used to treat?
Generally, cupping is combined with acupuncture in one treatment, but it can also be used alone. The suction and negative pressure provided by cupping can loosen muscles, encourage blood flow, and sedate the nervous system (which makes it an excellent treatment for high blood pressure). Cupping is also widely used to treat the following conditions and ailments:
Cupping is the term utilized for a technique that involves warming the air inside small glass, metal, or wooden cups and inverting it over a part of the body to treat various health conditions.
What is involved in Cupping Therapy?
Traditional Cupping
In a traditional cupping session, glass cups are warmed using a cotton ball or other flammable substance, which is soaked in alcohol, let, then placed inside the cup. Burning a substance inside the cup removes all the oxygen, which creates a vacuum.
Modern Cupping Practice
At Luz de Vida, we utilize modern cupping techniques. In a modern cupping session instead of creating a vacuum through heat, modern cupping sets use glass or plastic cups equipped with one-way valves. As the cups are placed on the patient, a hand-held pump draws out the air through the valves. The clarity of the glass allows the practitioner to gauge the intensity of the suction and evaluate the energy level of the patient.
Once the suction has occurred, the cups can be gently moved across the skin (often referred to as "gliding" cupping). The suction in the cups causes the skin and superficial muscle layer to be lightly drawn into the cup. Cupping is much like the inverse of massage - rather than applying pressure to muscles, it uses gentle pressure to pull them upward. For most patients, this is a particularly relaxing and relieving sensation. Once suctioned, the cups are generally left in place for about ten minutes while the patient relaxes. This is similar to the practice of Tui Na, a traditional Chinese medicine massage technique that targets acupuncture points as well as painful body parts, and is well known to provide relief through pressure. Generally, cupping is combined with acupuncture in one treatment, but it can also be used alone.
What conditions is Cupping used to treat?
Generally, cupping is combined with acupuncture in one treatment, but it can also be used alone. The suction and negative pressure provided by cupping can loosen muscles, encourage blood flow, and sedate the nervous system (which makes it an excellent treatment for high blood pressure). Cupping is also widely used to treat the following conditions and ailments:
Abscesses
Anxiety
Arteriosclerosis
Arthritis
Asthma
Back and Neck Pain
Boils
Bruises
Cellulite
Common Cold and Flu
Chills
Dental Pain
Fatigue
Gastric Disorders
Hemorrhoids
High Blood Pressure
Hypertension
Insomnia
Migraines
Motion Sickness
Muscle and Joint Pain
Neuralgia
Prostate
Rheumatism
Sciatica
Stiff Shoulders
Stroke
Tinnitus
Vertigo
Anxiety
Arteriosclerosis
Arthritis
Asthma
Back and Neck Pain
Boils
Bruises
Cellulite
Common Cold and Flu
Chills
Dental Pain
Fatigue
Gastric Disorders
Hemorrhoids
High Blood Pressure
Hypertension
Insomnia
Migraines
Motion Sickness
Muscle and Joint Pain
Neuralgia
Prostate
Rheumatism
Sciatica
Stiff Shoulders
Stroke
Tinnitus
Vertigo