by: Dr. Jaicy Harless
“A healthy body is a guest-chamber for the soul” – Francis Bacon
What is cupping?
Cupping is an ancient form of therapy used to ease the pain. Cupping involves placing cups on the skin to create suction. The suction is to improve the flow of energy in the body and facilitates healing.
Back in the day, it was used by Ancient Egypt, though cupping is also a part of many ancient healing systems, including Chinese, Unani, traditional Korean, and Tibetan.
Ancient believe that suction helps facilitate the flow of “qi” in the body. Cupping helps balance yin and yang, or the negative and positive, within the body. It restores the balance between these two extremes in thoughts to help the body’s resistance to pathogens as well as its ability to increase blood flow and reduce pain.
These days, cupping therapy is usually found as a treatment offered by practitioners:
- Chiropractors
- Massage Therapist
- Medical Doctor
- Physical Therapist
Theoretically, cupping therapy increases your blood circulation to the area where the cups are placed. This treatment relieves muscle tension, which helps to improve overall blood flow and stimulate cell repair. It also helps form new connective tissue and create blood vessels in the tissue.
According to research, cupping therapy may also remove toxins by stimulating the immune response both locally and systemically.
There are also studies that cupping therapy eliminates uric acid, and have a positive effect on the lymphatic system, which is partially responsible for eliminating your body’s waste.
Benefits of cupping:
1. Increases circulation
- Cupping increases circulation to the area where the cups are placed. Blood Flow to that area can help relieve muscle tension and promote cell repair. It also reduces the appearance of cellulite.
2. Stimulate tissues to release toxins
- Cupping gives your body to promote releasing toxins. Blood flow helps your body by flushing these built-up toxins through the lymphatic system.
3. Reduces anxiety
- During the treatment, as the cup glides into your skin, your parasympathetic system engages (responsible for your heart rate, assisting in digestion, and increasing intestinal and gland activity). That promotes deep relaxation throughout your entire body.
4. Reduces stretch marks and scars
- Increasing blood flow enables your body to dispose of toxins, restore lymphatic circulation, and help remove edema (excess fluid), which helps reduce the appearance of scarring.
5. Improves varicose veins and spider veins
- Cupping helps by bringing fresh blood flow and oxygen back to the problem areas. Varicose veins have bulging, bluish veins under your skin, usually on the legs and feet. It occurs when the valves inside the vein aren’t working properly. The valves don’t effectively push the blood from the muscle back to the heart, so the blood block and the veins twist and bulge.
6. Can clear congestions and help treat asthma
- Cupping also treats congestion, the build-up of fluid or phlegm in your lungs, that causes by a cold, bronchitis, or even asthma. The suction from cups breaks up and expels congestion. It brings oxygen-rich blood and lymph toward your lungs and your other respiratory muscles.
How does it work?
The cup was often heated with fire, using alcohol that was placed directly into the cap. The fire source is removed, and the heated cup is placed on the open side directly onto your skin.
The air inside the cup cools and creates a vacuum that draws the skin muscle up into the cup. Your skin turns red as the blood vessels respond to the change in pressure.
Here in Elite Muscle recovery, we use a rubber pump to create suction versus more traditional heat methods.
The cupping marks will usually disappear within 7 days of the session.
Other conditions that can cupping treats
- lower back pain
- neck and shoulder pain
- headache and migraine
- knee pain
- shingles
- facial paralysis
- acne
- lumbar disc herniation
- cervical spondylosis
- brachialgia, the pain produced by a trapped
- nerve in the neck
- carpal tunnel syndrome
- hypertension
- diabetes mellitus
- rheumatoid arthritis
- asthma
If you are experiencing any of the above deficits or are interested in any of our services please contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible visit our website at: https://elite-musclerecovery.com/
please call us: 📞423-664-8452