What is Cupping Therapy?
Cupping therapy is a Chinese medicine where a therapist uses a special cup on your skin for a few minutes to create suction, using a plastic pump to create a vacuum inside the cup.
What Does Cupping Do For the Body?
Cupping activates natural healing by draining excess fluids and toxins, loosening adhesions, and revitalizing connective tissue. It increases blood flow to the skin and muscles, thereby reducing pain and inflammation, and modulating the immune system.
With skin, muscle, and other soft tissues pulled into the cup via suction, this will naturally increase blood circulation to the area being treated. The increased blood flow will flush out any stagnated toxins in the blood, as well as attract immune cells to the treated area.
Why Athletes Use This Alternative Therapy
Athletes who use cupping choose to do so before and after their sport to heal aches and pains within their body as much as possible before they compete. For athletes diagnosed with a specific injury or undergoing a surgical process, cupping therapy can help their bodies heal faster. It can also decrease an athlete’s recovery time after strenuous training as it stimulates the chemical breakdown of toxins.
Post Cupping Treatment
For 4-6 hours after a cupping treatment, the recommendation is to avoid exposure to:
- Caffeine, alcohol, sugary feeds and drinks, dairy, and processed meats. These foods slow down your body’s ability to process the treatment
- Hot showers, saunas, hot tubs, and strong air conditioning
- Intense exercise
- Cold and windy conditions
After treatment, you will see temporary marks on your skin similar to bruises. The red marks as a result of the blood being pulled into the area. The darker the mark, the more stagnant fluids (toxins, blood, and lymph) were dredged up during treatment. The marks can last up to several days. The more often you receive cupping for the same issue, the lighter the marks will be.
To learn if cupping can help with your pain and inflammation, call our office for a complimentary consultation at 816-373-3373, or schedule online here,