Cupping therapy has been around longer than you know – a few thousands of years, actually. It’s one of the oldest therapeutic methods we know of, and has been used around the world, from Egypt and China, through to Latin America.
Cupping has been traditionally used to treat all ailments of the body and organs, by drawing blood and toxins away from these tissues. Now days, you’ll most likely see cupping being used to treat myofascial tissue, to resolve musculoskeletal pain and complaints.
Cupping therapy involves cups that are placed onto the area of issue, and they are vacuum sealed which drags the myofascial tissue upwards. This tissue becomes blood filled and swollen. As mentioned, this is traditionally meant to draw up toxins away from healthy tissue, and to be expelled by your body.
You’ll find cupping being used in many sporting communities for healing and clinical use. (Remember from Karate kid?) Western use of cupping will often use plastic, glass and silicon cups, with a vacuum seal, to treat musculoskeletal tissue.
Benefits of suction cupping include:
- Reducing pain and inflammation
- Improving blood flow and relaxation
- Aids healing and recovery and stimulates lymphatic drainage
Here at OsteoWest, we use a suction pump to draw up myofascial tissue into a plastic cup. Another way to suction up the myofascial tissue is through fire cupping! In which heat is quickly applied inside a glass cup, creating a vacuum seal when placed over the skin. Of course, keep in mind that it may be a fire hazard, and a suction pump achieves the same results.
If you are interested in how cupping therapy, consult our osteopaths at OsteoWest Health and Sports Clinic to see if this treatment is suitable for you.