
Talk with your doctor before you start cupping or any other type of alternative or complementary medicine. If the cups and equipment become contaminated with blood and are not sterilized correctly between patients, bloodborne diseases such as hepatitis B and C can be spread. But you could have these side effects in the area where the cups touch your skin: Side EffectsĬupping is fairly safe, as long as you go to a trained health professional. There isn’t research to back all of that up. Bronchial congestion caused by allergies and asthma.Rheumatic diseases such as arthritis and fibromyalgia.Blood disorders such as anemia and hemophilia.The British Cupping Society says that cupping therapy is used to treat: They concluded that cupping therapy may be effective when people also get other treatments, like acupuncture or medications, for various diseases and conditions, such as:īut those researchers noted many of the studies they reviewed could have been biased and that better studies are needed. Australian and Chinese researchers reviewed 135 studies on cupping. That’s similar to the findings from a 2012 report, published in PLoS One. One report, published in 2015 in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, notes that it could help with acne, herpes zoster, and pain management. There haven’t been many scientific studies on cupping. Some people also get “needle cupping,” in which the therapist first inserts acupuncture needles and then puts cups over them.
#DEEP THERAPY SKIN#
Your skin should look normal again within 10 days.Ĭupping therapy supporters believe that wet cupping removes harmful substances and toxins from the body to promote healing. It’s rare to get more than 5-7 cups, the British Cupping Society notes.Īfterward, you may get an antibiotic ointment and bandage to prevent infection. Or you might just try one to see how it goes. You might get 3-5 cups in your first session. Next, they do a second suction to draw out a small quantity of blood. The therapist then removes the cup and uses a small scalpel to make light, tiny cuts on your skin. Wet cupping creates a mild suction by leaving a cup in place for about 3 minutes. Sometimes therapists use silicone cups, which they can move from place to place on your skin for a massage-like effect.

The cup is generally left in place for up to 3 minutes.Ī more modern version of cupping uses a rubber pump instead of fire to create the vacuum inside the cup.

This causes your skin to rise and redden as your blood vessels expand. As the fire goes out, they put the cup upside down on your skin.Īs the air inside the cup cools, it creates a vacuum. There are different methods of cupping, including:ĭuring both types of cupping, your therapist will put a flammable substance such as alcohol, herbs, or paper in a cup and set it on fire. One of the oldest medical textbooks in the world, the Ebers Papyrus, describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1,550 B.C. It dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cultures. 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.Ĭupping therapy might be trendy now, but it’s not new. Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction.
