Cupping Therapy Guide Introduction
When considering cupping therapy, it is important that you comprehend exactly what cupping is and how it can help you.
Cupping is a natural treatment that uses pressurized glass or bamboo mugs to give a tender vacuum on your skin, which will help assuage torment, evacuate poisons, and numerous different things. It is a conventional Chinese medication that has been utilized for a long time as a part of the past and is turning out to be more prominent nowadays.
Cupping treatment supporters trust that wet cupping expels destructive substances and poisons from the body to advance healing. These are sufficiently malleable to be moved from spot to put on the skin and produce a back rub like impact.
Is Cupping Treatment Good?
To help you comprehend who will truly profit by this treatment, the following things are a portion of the diverse wellbeing conditions that it will help with:
- Cerebral pain – Many individuals feel migraines; however a high number of individuals experience them a considerable measure more. This treatment will help mitigate the torment from migraines and keep you from having them to a minimum.
- Back Pain – Do you feel pain in your lower to center back? In the event that you do, then you will most likely profit by this treatment as the back is an integral part of the therapy process.
- Aching Joints – Cupping will help to alleviate torment from your muscles and help them be more adaptable.
- Rheumatic sicknesses – There are numerous individuals that experience the ill effects of this condition that have discovered this treatment extremely advantageous for them.
- Sleeping disorders – If you discover yourself not having the capacity to rest, then this may be the response to helping you rest. Numerous individuals with a sleeping disorder have profited enormously from this treatment.
- Cellulite – Cupping can help to treat cellulite by improving blood flow, breaking down fat cells, and promoting lymphatic drainage. Learn the benefits of cellulite cupping here.
- While there are many benefits to cupping, there are some things you will need to consider before you start cupping therapy.
Cupping Therapy Side Effects
You could experience the following side effects:
- Burns
- Bruises
- Mild Discomfort
- Skin Infection
You may also experience markings. After a cupping session, you will have round marks on your skin (this is left by the cup). Most markings should vanish anywhere from a couple of days to a week.
Who Shouldn’t Use Cupping?
If you are pregnant, and those individuals who have steel implants, such as pacemakers, insulin pumps, or computer implants should avoid this form of therapy. There are other forms of therapy that can help such cases. Also, those with severe bleeding disorders, including thrombocytopenia and those with allergic skin reactions should avoid cupping.
What’s Used
An extensive range of glasses continues to be found in the cupping therapy procedure today. The form of mug used furthermore depends upon the kind of illness to become treated.
The Type of Jars
There are a large variety of jars for cupping therapy, the ones used most common clinically are listed below:
Bamboo Cup: It is a cup made out of a joined section of bamboo that is 6 to 10 cm in length and 3 to 5 cm in diameter. The rim of the cup should smooth and polished prior to usage.
The advantages of a bamboo cup are its length, economical, easily-made, and durable. The disadvantages are its fragile structure, which can cause leakage when exposed to dry conditions for a long time. Apart from normal daily usage, a bamboo cup can also be used for drug-cupping by boiling it in a medicinal liquid.
Pottery Jar: This kind of cup is made from pottery. The body of the pottery cup has a large belly, a slightly smaller mouth and the bottom is shaped like a drum. The advantage of the pottery cup is its ability to create a strong suction. However, it is heavy and easily breakable.
Glass Cup: The glass cup is different from the pottery jar, as it comes in a variety of sizes. The glass cup is unique in that it is transparent, and skin reactions can be easily observed and controlled. On the downside, it is delicate, which can be easily broken.
Piston Air-Sucking Cup: The piston air-sucking cup is made out of transparent plastic with a piston inside. The suction is created by moving the piston upwards to draw air into the cup. This type of cup is convenient as well as providing strong suction. It is also difficult to break or damage it.
Cupping Therapy Methods
Cupping is used to create suction and draw air into the cup, in order to attach the cup tightly against the skin. The commonly used methods to attach the cup onto the body are as follows:
Flame cupping: Flame cupping is used to propel air into the cup by a flame, creating suction and stick the cup to the skin.
Flame-casting cupping: With this method, the therapist will take a 95% alcohol-soaked cotton ball and place it into the cup, then place the cup on to the skin. This method is suitable for transverse cupping.
Cotton-sticking cupping: Stick a piece of 95% alcohol-soaked cotton ball inside the lower part of the cup. Ignite it and place the cup rapidly onto the skin.
Alcohol-dripping cupping: Drip one to three drops of 95% alcohol into the cup. Shake the cup to make the alcohol spread evenly along the wall of the cup. Ignite the alcohol, and then place the cup swiftly onto the skin.
What To Expect In The First Session…
As we have covered, cupping is generally safe, and it rarely hurts. Unless you suffer from rashes, skin allergies, or overly sensitive skin, it should be painless.
Are you nervous about your first cupping session? Don’t be! Let me explain what you can expect …
The cupping therapy procedure is usually done to your back, neck, and shoulders, but rarely on the limbs. In Chinese medicine, they take care to avoid cupping on skin ulcers. Also, they should avoid the sacral regions of women who are pregnant. Prior to a treatment, you may be asked to brush your teeth while taking care to avoid scraping your tongue. This is because traditional Chinese medicine uses body temperature, skin tone, heartbeat, and the appearance of your tongue as a means of assessing your state of health.
The First Step
You will be asked to remove your shirt (and if you’re a woman, your bra) and made to lie on your stomach. The doctor will then burn a bit of cotton and stick it into a glass ball with an open lip on one end. This open end will be stuck to your skin, causing an immediate suction.
The burning cotton will not be kept inside the ball, so you shouldn’t worry about getting burned. The cup will only be heated briefly, so the most you’ll feel is a warm, round, glass being stuck on you. You will feel the suction immediately as your flesh rises into the lip. Depending on your condition, you can expect anywhere from one to as many as ten (or more) cups getting stuck to your neck, shoulders, and back. The longer the cups are kept on, the tighter the suction becomes. Most find the cupping therapy pleasurable and relaxing.
Most find the cupping therapy pleasurable and relaxing.
Smaller Cups Will Be Used On Certain Areas
Bony areas, like your shoulders and neck, will get smaller cups to intensify the suction and keep them on. Fleshier areas like your back will get bigger cups so they can suck in more of your skin. Silicone is used more and more for better suction on bonier sections. Blood will then rush to the surface of your skin, causing a painless bruise, and your pores will open up.
Your doctor will be watching carefully, because the extent of the coloration and other changes to the affected skin area will form part of his/her diagnosis. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the blood will also flow better to areas that have been starved of oxygen. Chi, a power inherent in your body, will also focus on the spot to promote healing and recharge that weakened part.
Removing The Cup
Your doctor will then remove the cup after three to five minutes. Removal is also painless, after which you’ll look like you’ve been attacked by an octopus. The darker the bruising, the more your doctor will focus upon it.
After cupping therapy, a normal bruise should be a vibrant reddish or reddish orange. It usually takes three to four days for it to leave completely, though in some cases, it can take as long as a week. This is an important thing you must take into consideration in case you’re expecting to join a bathing suit contest shortly after.
If you do feel pain, you must let your doctor know right away, though this is extremely rare. In lieu of glass, some clinics prefer to use plastic or hypoallergenic silicone cups. It should be noted, however, that these other materials do not in any way mitigate the amount of bruising. The area will not be tender or sore, despite the ugly coloration left behind. Normal bruising is usually caused because the area has been hit hard enough. Since no hitting is involved, it will actually look a lot worse than it feels.
A Massage of Acupuncture Treatment Afterwards
A massage or acupuncture treatment may follow if you go to a traditional Chinese clinic. In cities throughout Southeast Asia where cuppers are offering their trade on the streets, cupping is about all you’ll get out of the session, though some may insist on giving you a backrub if they feel you need it.
The Feeling
Some feel a mild tingling on their skin after the cups are removed. This can last anywhere from several minutes to a couple of hours, which is normal, depending on the situation. In cases where you’re suffering from stiff joints or aching muscles, you may be asked to come in for several sessions. If so, they’ll usually ask you to come back after the bruising is gone. At most, you may get two sessions in a week. Three cupping therapy sessions a week is not recommended, so if you get an offer for one, you’re not in a traditional Chinese clinic. Most likely, you’ve wandered into a spa.
Since Chinese medicine believes that ill-health is the result of many factors including the accumulation of toxins in your body, you’ll be asked to drink plenty of water after each cupping session. The general recommendation is about eight 8 oz glasses of water everyday throughout the course of your treatment. Since dry cupping is usually part of a much more holistic series of treatments, an entire session can last anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour. Depending on your symptoms, your treatment can involve certain exercises, the drinking of certain. teas, and even lifestyle changes like cutting down on alcohol or giving up smoking.
First Cupping Procedure
During your first cupping procedure, there is no need for you to be nervous. In fact, you may actually enjoy it enough to go back again! In spite of the fact that a cupping session may sound difficult, it is nothing of the sort. Truth be told, ordinarily the main thing a man feels is a slight suction where every glass is put. After a session, you may have roundabout red imprints on your skin from the mugs. These red imprints will blur in a few days. They are a sign that the cupping treatment has effectively expanded the blood stream inside of your body.
Conclusion – After Therapy, Now What?
Immediately after therapy, you’re going to feel more relaxed than you have ever felt before. The marks that sometimes result from cupping may scare you at first, but this is simply a result of cupping. This doesn’t mean you have been injured. The vacuum that is formed by cupping brings up the old non-circulating stagnant blood. This allows healthy free circulation to be restored to the area. In return, this is making space for living cells, oxygen and nutrients, making for a faster recovery.
Cupping may leave marks. These marks are solely indicators that the disease or stagnation was eliminated from the deeper tissue layers to the surface.
After you have gone through this treatment, you may experience sore skin, and as we previously discussed, what looks like bruising. There’s no need to worry, because this is expected from each cupping session. The color and pattern of the marks will all depend on the level of stagnation. If marks show up, they can range in appearance from dark purple to bright red. The marks can last from three days to one week, sometimes longer, if you’re sick or sedentary.
These marks may look painful, but they are not. If there’s no stagnation, there will only be a light pink mark, which will disappear after a couple of hours of treatment.
In areas where there is old trauma or injury, you may need to have multiple cupping therapy treatments done in order to eliminate all stagnation. With follow up treatments, some marks will start to get lighter – this is because the pathogens are being systemically eliminated from your body.
After treatment, it is important that you drink plenty of water in order to flush the toxins that have been lifted from your muscles.
What to Avoid
For 24 hours after your treatment session, you should avoid the following:
- Sauna
- Hot Tub
- Heavy Exercise
- Hot Shower/Bath
- Heavy Meals
- Sunbathing
Now that we have introduced the cupping therapy to you, it is evident that the tools for cupping are pretty simple. In fact, some people are buying cupping kits. They do cupping treatment in the comfort of their own home, as opposed to going to a therapist and having it done. As long as you know what you’re doing, there’s nothing wrong with this method.
Hope this introductory guide into what you need to know before starting cupping therapy serves you well. All the best with your journey into alternative forms of therapy.
