Cupping
Cupping has been around since ancient times - for about 5,000 years to be exact. It is believed to have originated in Egypt and became popular among the Chinese. Similar to acupuncture and acupressure, it is believed to relieve certain symptoms and conditions when applied to key points of the body. Some of the treatments are mild and cause only mild discomfort whereas there are those that are more serious and applied to a more intense session. It has a wide range of benefits for your health and wellness. Some of these include promoting muscle relaxation and improving immunity.
Benefits of cupping:
- Pain relief : Cupping helps soften the tissue with applied pressure to stagnant areas. This increases the blood flow which will allow for essential nutrients as well as oxygen to get to the tissue.
- Promote relaxation: Chronic stress and mental fatigue can lead to anxiety and depression. It is important to take time to relax and relieve the tension that accumulates in your day to day life.
- Relieve cough, allergy and cold symptoms: Cupping helps stimulate vital organs, including the lungs, which helps to speed up healing, clear out phlegm, and even relieve allergy symptoms. It can improve your immune function due to the movement of blood and lymphatic fluid through the body properly.
- Quickens the Healing Process: Cupping helps heal injuries more quickly because it reduces inflammation. Too much inflammation is a bad thing, as it'll lead to heath concerns. However, a little inflammation can go a long way to help quicken the healing process of both injuries, as well as, illness. Blood is drawn up to the affected areas. This not only draws stagnant fluids between the tissues, but it also helps bring nutrient rich blood to assist in healing the affected area.
-Detoxify the Body: Cupping can help to release toxins that build up in the tissues due to the promotion of better circulation. The toxins are then excreted by the lymphatic system, which is activated in the process of cupping.
- Helps skin conditions: Cupping can help numerous skin conditions, a common skin condition is Cellulite. This can be helped with cupping by increasing the local metabolism in the area and increasing circulation. This is manifested by a tightening of the skin in the effected areas after several sessions, which in turn reduces the appearance of cellulite.
- Anti- aging effect: Cupping helps with combating wrinkles that accumulate during the aging process because of a slowing down of circulation as we age. Cupping improves circulation allowing more essential nutrients and oxygen to get to your skin, this increases collagen production, ensuring that you have healthier skin while aging naturally.
- Helps Digestive Disorders: Cupping is known to help with digestive disorders due to the reduction of symptoms. It can lower the stress response which is linked to digestive functioning. Frequently throughout the history of cupping, it has been used to treat diarrhea, acute gastritis, loss of appetite, water retention, and frequent stomach pains.
What to expect: The cups can be placed or moved around the body with varying amounts of suction. This suction then creates a raising of the skin and draws the blood to the surface. The pressure felt will be determined by the amount of suction. When moved, it can feel very similar to a normal massage. When stagnant, at first one might feel pressure and slight pain but as it sits the pressure and pain dissipate. Cupping marks may appear on skin. The mark isn't a bruise since it is not a result of an injury towards the blood vessels.The mark is just from the fluids moving from the tissues towards the surface of the skin. The marks will go away anywhere between 3-15 days. After a session, re-hydrating with lots of fluids can help get rid of the marks faster.
Precautions and Contraindications:
For those who are taking anticoagulants, exercise caution when getting this treatment. It would be best to get approval from your physician. The main reason behind this is that cupping could cause excessive bruising and increase the risk of bleeding in the capillaries.
Cupping cant be preformed on an empty stomach. It can lead to dizziness and plummets the energy levels of the client. It is best to east a light meal about an hour and a half prior to the treatment schedule.
People with open wounds, sunburns, acute stages of inflammations, and those with fresh scars are not advised to receive cupping massage.
Pregnant women only up to 6 months can have light to medium cupping. After 6 months cupping should be avoided.
Those who have had heart attacks over the last 6 months and those who are in the last stage of cancer ( stage 4 ) hemophilia and other blood disorders can not be treated with cupping.
