Cupping Therapy

Cupping Therapy

Cupping is a traditional therapy where cups are placed on the skin to create suction. This suction gently pulls the skin upward.  The benefits of cupping are increased blood flow, muscle tension relief, and promoting healing to damaged muscle and fascia.

How It Works

A therapist places special cups (glass, silicone or plastic) on the skin and creates suction by:

·       Heating the inside of the cup to create a vacuum (fire cupping), or

·       Using a hand pump to remove air

The suction draws the skin into the cup for several minutes.

Types of Cupping

1. Dry cupping – Suction only.

2. Moving cupping – Oil is applied and the cups are glided across the skin. This is usually used with fire cupping.

3. Wet cupping – or more commonly known as Hijama, this is used in traditional Arabic medicine and involves small skin incisions before suction to draw out a small amount of blood. I’ll be only describing the first two types as I don’t use this type of cupping in my therapies.

What is Cupping Used For?

People use cupping for:

·       Muscle pain and tightness

·       Back and neck pain

·       Fascia release

·       Headaches

·       Sports recovery

·       Improving circulation

Creating the Suction

There are two main methods:

Fire Cupping

·       A flame is briefly placed inside a glass cup to create a vacuum.

·       The cup is quickly placed on the skin.

·       As the air cools, the vacuum creates suction that pulls the skin upward inside the cup.

 Pump/Suction Cupping

·       A cup is placed on the skin.

·       A manual pump removes air from the cup to create a vacuum, causing the skin to pull upwards inside the cup.

·       This method avoids heat.

     During Treatment

·       Cups stay in place for 5–15 minutes.

·       You may feel tightness or pulling, but it shouldn’t be sharply painful.

·       The skin rises slightly inside the cup.

Variation

Moving (Gliding) Cupping

·       Oil is applied to the skin.

·       Cups are moved across the body like a deep-tissue massage.

·       This is predominantly used during fire cupping

Common Side Effects

These are usually mild and temporary:

·       Round red, purple, or brown marks (from broken capillaries under the skin)

·       Bruising

·       Mild pain or soreness

·       Skin irritation

·       Swelling

·       Light-headedness

The circular marks typically fade within a few days to two weeks.

If you have any questions regarding cupping please feel free to get in touch on text/whats app 07912754088 or DM me on social media.