Dr. David Keifer defines Cupping therapy as an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. People get it for many purposes, including to help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage." He sites that cupping therapy "may be gaining in popularity now, but it’s not new. It dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cultures. One of the oldest medical textbooks in the world, the Ebers Papyrus, describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1,550."

 

 

What is Cupping Massage Technique?

Vacuum manual therapy is mainly used to:

* Separate adhesions in tissue layers and create space in the fascia;

* Reduce/eliminate inflammation;

* Stimulate lymph drainage;

* Sedate, regulate, and calm the nervous system;

* Relieve pain;

* Soften and minimize scar tissue; and

* Release rigid tissue and compensatory patterns.

These basics can apply to such conditions as diabetes, arthritis, dense breast tissue, scoliosis, and a host of other conditions. They can also be applied to athletic performance enhancement.

 

What Are Those Circular Bruises?

There have been many cup-mark sightings in the last decade—from those on prominent athletes in the Olympics to stars on the red carpet, all sporting the circular discolorations that often occur when a cup is left in place.

The marks most often are created by the vacuum pulling old debris up to the underside of the skin.

Most clients can identify the debris-causing incident in their past: falls down stairs, falls from horses or other injuries. Others have created the debris from chronic movement patterns such as hammering, lifting weights or loading freight.

In vacuum manual therapy, the vacuum cups are kept dynamic and liberate the debris from the tissue without pulling it all up to the underside of the skin. This avoids a hyper-congested state that the lymph system has to work harder to eliminate, along with avoiding damage to superficial lymphatic terminations.

Some people will get discolorations much more easily than others, and this will reflect their life history, genetics, general health, and habits.

While circular marks are certainly not the goal of using vacuum cups, it is beneficial to eliminate the debris from the tissues. This congestion can restrict movement in a joint by binding tissue together, and also block fluid flow to and drainage from the tissues.

Cupping is not safe for pregnant women, patients with bleeding disorders, seniors with weak compositions, or those with open wounds. If you have or may have a medical condition, it’s best to check with your doctor to confirm that you can try cupping.

 

Jennifer O'Neill Massage & Bodywork offers Cupping as an add-on for $10.00. Before your massage session is complete, cups will be placed on the major target zones on the back and left for 10 minutes or so to work their magic.

A full Cupping Massage, which includes utilizing cups during the massage session on various areas of the body and using the massage cream to slide the cups along the surface area, falls under 60-minute massage pricing at $70.00.

 

(Some of the information used on this page was obtained from instructor Anita Shannon, LMT, and Massage Magazine)