Cupping is a Traditional Chinese Medicine healing therapy
Cupping, or fire cupping as it is sometimes called, involves special glass cups called inspirators. The air is heated inside these cups which creates a vacuum and then they are quickly applied to the skin. The suction not only holds the cup in place, but it brings increased blood flow to the area in a form of treatment called congestion.
What Cupping Looks Like
nlhc
Cupping bruise
how manjula got her chi back
cupping (traditional medical treatment)
Cupping
mike cupping
the aftermath of an ancient chinese medicinal treatment
Getting fire-cup therapy in Nanning.
Me, at acupuncture
the result of a minor fire cupping this weekend.
Glass Inspirators and Cupping Sets
In addition to using cups on the skin with suction, there are techniques where moxibustion or blood-letting is combined. for both of those methods, you will definitely want to have glass cups.
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My Experiences With Cupping
I've known about cupping for about a decade now, and I've had it done on a few occasions. It's not painful but it can leave you with some funky circle bruises on your skin for a while afterwards. Most often the skin is massaged a bit with oil. This lets the skin and cup edge slide more easily against each other when the cups are applied.
A glass cup has a lit torch held inside it for a few seconds. This is just enough to warm the air, which creates a vacuum effect. The cup is then quickly plopped down on the skin. A small area of skin is sucked up into the cup and that's what holds it to the skin surface. The hotter the air, the stronger the vacuum and suction feeling. If it feels too tight at this point, either the skin wasn't oiled enough or the vacuum is just a tad too strong. The cup can be easily removed and reapplied if it's really uncomfortable.
Sometimes large cups are applied and then slide back and forth on the body surface. This feels like a massage, as the cup sucks up a bit of the skin and by moving the cup, it feel like a deep muscle push done with the heel of the hand. Smaller cups can also be applied over areas where chi is blocked or where you want to increase circulation.
Cups are left in place for up to a half hour approximately. To remove them, you just break the seal by pressing down at the edge of them with a finger. The marks left behind are a combination of how strong the vacuum of the cups was and what impurities/toxins were being removed. Most often the circles left behind are reddish-brown but they can also be yellowish or even a bit more blue like a traditional bruise. These fade anywhere from a day to over a week or two depending on how long the cups were on you and what your own skin healing is like.
Theraputic Cupping Sets
This style of cupping uses a hand-pump instead of heat/flame to create the vacuum that holds the cups in place. Many of the sets also include magnets, which are applied on specific points or meridians to enhance energy flow. Sets include many cups in graduated sizes.
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- What is cupping therapy?
- Cupping is an ancient Chinese method of causing local congestion. A partial vacuum is created in cups placed on the skin either by means of heat or suction. This draws up the underlying tissues. When the cup is left in place on the skin for a few minutes, blood stasis is formed and localized healing takes place.
- A World of Acupuncture - Cupping
- Cupping is generally used as an alternative to acupuncture to infulence qi and blood flow.
- Cupping
- Cupping is one of the oldest methods of traditional Chinese medicine. The earliest recorded use of cupping dates to the early fourth century, when the noted herbalist Ge Hong wrote about a form of cupping in A Handbook of Prescriptions.
- 'Cupping' Takes The Pain Away - CBS News
- It looks like something out of medieval alchemy, but cupping therapy is a form of alternative medicine that recently left some high profile marks on Gwyneth Paltrow. Find out why it may be able to cure what ails you.
- Fire cupping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Fire cupping is a method of applying acupressure by creating a vacuum next to the patient's skin. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) it involves placing glass, plastic, or bamboo cups on the skin with a vacuum. The therapy is used to relieve what is called "stagnation" in TCM terms, and is used in the treatment of respiratory diseases such as the common cold, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Cupping is also used to treat back, neck, shoulder, and other musculoskeletal pain. Its advocates claim it has other applications as well. This technique, in varying forms, has also been found in the folk medicine of Vietnam, the Balkans and modern Greece, among other places.
- Massage Cupping
- Massage cupping is an exciting modern adaptation of the ancient art of cupping therapy. Cupping is a subtle, yet powerful addition to any healthcare practice and complements many healing modalities.
- cupping
- Cupping is a method of treatment used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that involves heating the air inside a cup and placing the inverted cup on some part of the body.
- Cupping
- Cupping is a therapy in which a jar is attached to the skin surface to cause local congestion through the negative pressure created by introducing heat in the form of an ignited material. In the ancient times in China, cupping method was called " horn method. "
See How Cupping Can Be Done
Cupping History and Instruction
Traditional Chinese Medicine Cupping Therapy: A Practical Guide
This unique reference explores all aspects of cupping-- an ancient, predominantly Eastern technique in which heated cups are applied to the body for beneficial healing effects. Guidelines are applied to the treatment of common medical conditions, with answers to readers' questions concerning safety and outcome. Each method is well illustrated, with differentiations between cupping practice on adults and children.
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Gua Sha: A Traditional Technique for Modern Practice
This is the first English language book on the ancient therapeutic technique 'Gua Sha'. It is a technique commonly used in Asia and Southeast Asia by TCM practitioners, Chinese families and individuals who know and use it as part of their 'health culture'.
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Cupping Therapy, A Practical Guide Book
Chinese methods of cupping--applying vacuum cups to areas on the skin surface in order to relieve stagnation and promote flow of blood and qi-- are presented in historical and clinical perspective. Cupping treatments describe therapy for common disorders ranging from abdominal pain, stroke, and asthma to anemia, diarrhea, and back pain. Over 60 illustrations complement the textual detail.
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Cupping Commentary
sharing your cupping experiences
If you've had cupping done for a medical condition, please share your experience with other readers!
JamesWhittle wrote...
Great Lens. As a practitioner who has been using cupping for 10 years, I found it very thorough. In Shanghai at Shuguang hospital I was cupped for neck pain...helped dramatically.
Posted October 13, 2008
GypsyPirate wrote...
I caught part of a special about this on the Discovery Channel, but they didn't explain it nearly as well as your lens has. Thanks!
Posted March 16, 2008
flowergardener wrote...
Awesome Euryale! Boy am I behind, I didn't know anything about cupping, so I thank you for this information and welcome you to the Natural Medicine Group.
Posted March 15, 2008
