4 Reasons We Might Recommend Cupping

Cupping is a natural healing therapy that has been used for centuries in East Asian Medicine (traditional Chinese medicine) to relax your body, improve your mental well-being, and support healing for many painful conditions.

If you’re considering cupping, the most important step you can take is seeking a health professional with cupping experience. An experienced professional helps you achieve optimal results by first identifying your unique health needs and choosing the appropriate cupping method.

Our team at Docere Integrated Medicine includes skilled specialists in traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, and of course, cupping. We’re available to evaluate your health, answer your questions, and recommend holistic care that works for you.

Cupping explained

During cupping, we place a globe-shaped cup against your skin and pull the air out of the cup to create a vacuum. The vacuum secures the cup against your skin and gently pulls the skin and its underlying tissues into the cup.

The suction creates pressure that increases blood and lymphatic circulation and promotes the release of fluids flowing around cells. The boost in blood delivers healing oxygen and nutrients to the tissues. At the same time, the lymphatic system eliminates wastes and the loss of fluids carries away toxins and inflammatory substances.

There are different cupping methods, such as:

Static cupping

The cups stay in one place, targeting a specific area. For example, we may target certain muscles or place the cups over acupuncture points.

Dynamic cupping

We may use specialized cups that easily glide across your skin and use the movement to massage a broader area.

Wet cupping

During wet cupping, we gently puncture the skin and place the cup over the tiny cut, allowing more toxins to escape.

Four benefits of cupping therapy

We recommend cupping for its four primary benefits:

• Relieving pain
• Reducing inflammation
• Promoting healing
• Relaxing muscles

These benefits tend to work together to produce optimal results. For example, cupping stretches and loosens tight muscles and connective tissues, which dramatically relaxes muscles and eases the pain caused by tight tissues. Relaxing the connective tissues also improves movement, which reduces pain caused by stiffness.

The treated tissues heal and inflammation goes down as cupping increases blood flow and removes toxins. The vacuum also creates a type of mild trauma, triggering your body to send healing cells to the area.

If we use dynamic cupping, you gain the benefits of a massage. Massage enhances all the health benefits of cupping and also prompts the release of pain-relieving endorphins, reduces stress hormones, helps your body recuperate after athletics, and strengthens your immune system.

Cupping complements other treatments

Many people have cupping as a standalone therapy to ease muscle tension and pain and improve their athletic performance. However, we frequently use cupping as one part of your holistic treatment for a wide range of conditions, including:

• Chronic pain
• Osteoarthritis
• Headaches
• Low back pain
• Neck pain
• Neuropathy (nerve pain)
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Anxiety and stress

As new research is published, we learn more about the conditions that improve with cupping. A study published in August 2020 in the medical journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice found that cupping significantly diminished chronic fatigue and improved the quality of sleep in people with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Another interesting study, published in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology in July 2021, discovered that the muscle fatigue produced by performing biceps curls didn’t improve right after a cupping session. But, there was a delayed response with improvement 24 hours after cupping.

If you’re new to cupping and would like to learn more about how it may improve your health, call Docere Integrated Medicine in Auburn, Washington, or book an appointment online today.