What Is Cupping Therapy? Uses, Benefits, Side Effects, and More (2024)

FAQs

What are the benefits and side effects of cupping? ›

Cupping therapy is an ancient healing method that may ease back pain, neck pain, headaches and other issues. It uses suction to pull on your skin and increase blood flow to the affected area. Cupping causes bruising and can lead to skin infection.

While there are not any dangerous side effects of cupping therapy, some patients may experience nausea, sweating or dizziness, mild soreness in the areas where cupping is used and minimal pain. Ensure your practitioner knows if you have any skin conditions like eczema as cupping may worsen that area.

Dry cupping has exhibited efficacy in managing generalized pain conditions, whereas wet cupping has demonstrated the most significant benefits in alleviating inflammatory-related pain conditions, such as herpes zoster infection.

Cupping Marks

Although these circular marks tend to have the same color as bruises, they are painless. The different colors can help indicate the level of blood and Qi stagnation, toxin accumulation, or dampness accumulation in your body. Just like bruises, the color of the marks change over time as they fade away.

Cupping works by creating a vacuum pressure on the skin which draws out impurities from deep tissue massage and muscles. This process helps draw out accumulated waste products such as environmental toxins and heavy metals that may have been stored in your cells for years without you knowing it was there.

[10] have suggested that wet cupping does not change basal heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure; however, rates of arrhythmia with ischemic origin were significantly lower in rats receiving wet cupping, and that wet cupping treatment may have a cardioprotective effect.

It is not recommended for people with liver, kidney or heart failure or those with a pacemaker. As well, it can't be used if you have hemophilia, anemia or similar blood disorders, heart disease or are on blood thinners. “If pregnant, it has been advised to avoid cupping to the abdomen and lower back,” Ebinger said.

Non-preventable complications of cupping include headaches, vasovagal attacks, and the Koebner phenomenon, and preventable complications include anemia, scars, bullae formation, and superficial skin irritation and infection [5].

In general, cupping is contraindicated directly on veins, arteries, nerves, skin inflammation, any skin lesion, body orifices, eyes, lymph nodes, or varicose veins. Cupping is also contraindicated on open wounds, bone fractures, and sites of deep vein thrombosis.

Cupping increases blood circulation to the area where the cups are placed. This may relieve muscle tension, which can improve overall blood flow and promote cell repair. It may also help form new connective tissues and create new blood vessels in the tissue.

Does cupping reduce inflammation? ›

Cupping helps your body reduce inflammation through suction. You can think of it as similar to a massage in reverse. This treatment contributes to sterile inflammation. The vacuum-like suction from the cups causes micro-trauma to the applied areas.

Both physical therapy techniques help eliminate or minimize tension and stress. These approaches should help you relax your body. If you are suffering from pain or soreness, either therapy can alleviate the discomfort. In particular, cupping activates natural healing while massage removes knots.

Cupping therapy can be done as often as necessary. For most people, cupping therapy is done once a week. However, if you are using cupping therapy for pain relief, you may need to do it more often. Some people find that they need cupping therapy two to three times a week to get relief from their pain.

Marks that are black, deep purple or blue indicate blood stagnation in the area. This means that an injury or illness has resided in the area for a long time and the body has yet to full clear the stagnation. Cupping will allow the body to deal with the stagnation more effectively and promote health to the area.

So, if you have one of those annoying family members or housemates who like to poke bruises to see if they hurt, they won't. Cupping marks typically disappear between 4 and 10 days. But on the odd occasion, they can last for two weeks. The colour of the marks will often determine how long the mark will last.

It is not recommended for people with liver, kidney or heart failure or those with a pacemaker. As well, it can't be used if you have hemophilia, anemia or similar blood disorders, heart disease or are on blood thinners. “If pregnant, it has been advised to avoid cupping to the abdomen and lower back,” Ebinger said.

It may help boost immune function, increase blood flow, and reduce pain. More and more research is emerging to suggest that cupping may be an effective complementary treatment for a variety of symptoms and conditions. Still, more high quality research is needed to confirm what cupping can do.

Cupping Therapy is believed to work by increasing blood flow to the strained area, which can help to decrease inflammation, improve circulation, and relieve pain. It is also thought to help stimulate the flow of lymphatic fluid, which can help to remove toxins from the body.