Different Types Of Cupping Therapy
Everything you need to know about the ancient medicine
Cupping therapy is well over 2000 years old but has come under the limelight only in the past few years. It works on the myofascial tissue — the layer of tissue between your muscles and your skin. This tissue is a very sensitive organ. Everything in the human body is connected to everything else. For instance, when you move your head to the right, even though you may not feel it, there’s a pull happening at your feet. Sometimes due to incorrect movements during exercise or accidents, the myofascial tissue gets scrunched up and causes pain. Eventually, it turns into chronic pain. Cupping relaxes the myofascial tissue and creates an influx of blood flow.
Although an ancient healing therapy, cupping has garnered much attention because of its wide healing range and miraculous results. Several athletes and celebrities including Michael Phelps and Gwyneth Paltrow, endorsing cupping therapy could be another reason for its newfound fame.
Cupping is a part of complementary and alternative medicine and treatment that makes use of glass suction cups or plastic suction cups that are placed on painful body parts. It stimulates muscles and helps particularly in the treatment of aches and pains in limbs, head, neck, shoulders, and back. The procedure is commonly performed on the back but can also be done on the neck, legs, and hips.
Many people who have undergone cupping therapy have improved or recovered. The technique is not only useful for muscular-skeletal pain affecting the back, neck, shoulders, and hips but is also used for internal disorders, such as stomach aches, vomiting, diarrhea, asthma, or cough. Some practitioners claim that it also helps with an array of ailments from infertility, pain, and colds to constipation, insomnia, and drug addiction.
Various regions of the body on which cupping is effectively applied under diseases conditions are the back or neck, the interscapular region, at the right and left carotid, the lateral side of the neck, at the protuberance behind the ear, the middle and crown of the head, at the chin, at the thighs or folds of the thighs, at knee joints, at ankle joints, at the breast, at hips or buttocks, at the anal area, at wrist joints, at ear tragus, and at shoulder joints. The back, chest, abdomen, and buttock, areas of abundant muscle are the most common sites on which the cups are applied.
Even though not as painful as it looks, here are 16 different ways cupping is done:
1. Light, medium, and strong cupping
A cup with a nozzle and a pump is used to create suction. The locations on the back of the patient are marked avoiding the spine and other bones. The cup is screwed into the pump through the nozzle and the cup is placed at the marked places 5 to 10 pulls of the hand pump will create the required suction. Similarly, a number of cups are placed along the paraspinal muscles of the back, on the shoulders, on the neck, and on the sacral region depending on the treatment. This method draws blood and fluid away from any inflamed area to the surface of the skin.
Those who are new to cupping are given light or weak treatment to stimulate the movement of blood. The pressure level used is between 100 and less than 300 millibar (Mb). It is mainly used for children, and elderly patients, and for sensitive body parts like the face. Its main advantage is that it leaves most patients with no cupping marks.
The common ailments treated with this type of cupping are the common cold, digestive problems, and asthma. In the East, cupping is done daily until the patient is well. This may be as many as 10 sessions per week. However, in the West, only one session per week is prescribed.
Medium cupping pressure is used for common-purpose cupping [25]. The pressure level used is between 300 and less than 500 Mb. It is created by 3–4 full manual pump suctions. Unlike light cupping, medium cupping can leave cupping marks over the body parts. It is not recommended for use over sensitive body areas such as the face.
Strong cupping is the most draining of all techniques that move the blood to eliminate pathogenic factors and regulates the opening and closing of pores, nourishes and warms the skin, and facilitates respiration. Patients may experience spontaneous sweating.
A cotton ball is ignited and quickly inserted into the cup which is inverted onto the skin to create an instant suction. The strong vacuum pulls at the skin to quickly turn it purple and should last no longer than 10 minutes. The purple bruise may take up to 15 days to recover.
2. Moving cupping
Moving cupping is also known as moving cupping, dynamic cupping, and gliding cupping. It is used as a precursor to fixed cupping to help stimulate blood flow around the body and to activate the lymph system. The therapist applies a generous amount of lotion or oil to the skin and using light tension moves the cups over the skin with a sliding motion, in circular, long movements. The oils used can be any type- black seed, olive, etc and it is generally done on the back. It is often used for treating digestion, inflammation, and congestion. The cups are glided towards the lymph glands, as a way of helping the body expel toxins and waste through the lymphatic system. The movement of cups loosens and lifts the connective tissues, which increases blood and lymph flow to the skin and muscles.
3. Needle cupping
Dry needling uses a solid filament needle inserted into specific muscles at a myofascial trigger point. It creates a small, microscopic lesion to kick-start the body’s natural healing process. In this method, it is important to use small short needles and avoid areas such as the abdomen and the chest to avoid any risk of organ penetration. Based on the National Institutes of Health studies, this relieves pain, reduces muscle tension, and improves range of motion. Dry needling is an effective technique to get you back to daily life by decreasing muscle spasms and nerve compression. It accelerates recovery time and allows the patient to return to sports or other activities after only a few treatments.
4. Hot needle cupping
This technique utilizes negative pressure to stretch structures in the human body including the skin, fascia, and muscle tissue. The purpose is to increase microcirculation of the soft tissue structures, which improves healing and increases the range of movements. In hot needle cupping, acupuncture is applied initially with subsequent deposition of hot cups over the needle. Small needles are inserted into the skin which when coming in contact with tension points, relieves the pain. It is widely accepted as a safe therapy. The length of the needle in cupping depends on the patient gender and the negative pressure of cupping.
5. Empty/flash cupping
As the name suggests, this type of cupping involves the quick repeated application of cups. It reduces the chance of local congestion and stimulates circulation over a broader area. The therapist uses quick suctions of light to medium pressure for less than 30 seconds at a time. This is also called empty cupping. Flash cupping is suitable for people who should not use dry cupping, such as children.
6. Full/bleeding cupping
A cupping professional lightly puncture the skin before applying the cups. This method is also known as full cupping, bleeding cupping, or bloodletting cupping. Wet cupping carries a higher risk of scarring, infection, and fainting. This method is not legal in some states or countries.
7. Herbal cupping
Herbal cupping is also known as medicinal cupping. It uses only bamboo cups wherein the herbs are boiled as aqueous dispersions followed by the application of suction on specific points. The acupuncture method can be merged with this type of cupping also. The practitioner boils a herbal solution for about thirty minutes, soaks bamboo cups in it, and then applies the slightly cooled cups to the skin.
8. Water cupping
Water cupping comprises filling a glass or bamboo cup with one-third warm water and pursuing the cupping process in a rather quick fashion.
9. Fire cupping:
Fire Cupping is done using glass cups, ceramic cups, and bamboo cups that have no valves. Traditionally in China, a piece of paper or cotton is used which is either alighted and inserted into the cup directly or it is soaked with 95% alcohol and attached to the end of a stick and then burned. This burning stick makes the cup hot and is later removed. The key benefits of fire cupping are to reduce chronic or acute muscle tension and promote circulation throughout your body by bringing impure blood to the surface to be cleared away.
10. Facial cupping
Facial cupping is useful for patients suffering from a range of ailments related to the head and neck area without resorting to more extensive treatments. It is known for its therapeutic benefits. This type of cupping benefits those with sinusitis, migraines, facial paralysis, earaches, and conditions in which the movement of the jaw is hampered.
11. Laser cupping:
Laser cupping is a relatively new cupping technique that is used in combination with acupuncture therapy. An acupuncture laser probe is inserted inside the cups in order to stimulate specific acupuncture points as an extra effect of cupping. The advantage of this method is that it is designed to combine the benefits of acupuncture and cupping in one session.
12. Electrical stimulation cupping:
Just like laser cupping, Electric cupping makes use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) wherein both electric and cupping stimulate the affected area. It is commonly used for muscular pain and the stimulation of specific points.
13. Magnetic cupping:
This technique uses cups with magnets inside them and then places them on the skin. This type of cupping is commonly used to treat conditions affecting knees or other large joints. It is presumed that electromagnetic stimulation enhances the therapeutic effectiveness of cupping.
14. Water cupping:
This method uses cups that are partially filled with warm water. The therapist fills a third of a cup with warm water and also places burning cotton wool in the cup before applying the cup to the skin and creating suction.
15. Aquatic cupping:
This type of cupping is a combination of cupping therapy with aquatic therapy which is performed underwater, where muscles can be stretched more. It is generally used for musculoskeletal problems or rehabilitation.
16. Moxa cupping
Moxa cupping is a technique that is done using heat and a herb called Moxa. Moxa is made up of dried Mugwort leaves. During the process, the therapist will warm a needle with Moxa and place a cup over it and create suction. A thin aluminium layer is used as a shield before putting the hot Moxa to prevent the skin from burning.
Cupping therapy is not a one-off treatment. Its original purpose even in ancient times was to be a supplement to a fully integrated health plan. Some ailments may require two to three sessions and others may take multiple sessions to show results. In many countries, cupping is done only on particular days and dates predetermined according to the lunar calendar.
Some precautions to be taken after getting cupping therapy are drinking lots of water to keep your body hydrated and giving the lymphatic system the boost it needs to flush out toxins, not showering for a day after the procedure, keeping the treated areas covered and warm, avoid alcohol and taking ample rest.
