Cupping as Medicine
Cupping is a healing modality with ancient roots that is still widely practiced today. Traditionally cupping was used to treat disease by pulling pathogenic factors such as excess cold, heat, wind, or stagnant blood and fluids to the surface of the skin to clear out through the pores.
In Chinese medicine cupping is used to treat disease, including arthritis, chronic pain, colds, flus, and liver disorders. Cupping is also practiced as manual therapy to resolve pain and tension, decompress restricted fascia, and increase circulation.
Mechanism of Action
Cupping uses a negative pressure created by a pump, suction, or vacuum. Cupping draws stagnant blood and fluid to the superficial vessels, thereby increasing circulation and lymph flow within the layers of the fascia.
The Discoloration/ Cupping Marks/ Sha
Cupping draws blood and fluids to the superficial vessels, temporarily filling them and creating a mark that looks like a bruise or rash. This discoloration is temporary and usually fades in a couple of days to a week. Unlike a bruise, the treated area feels immediate pain relief and resolution of tension.
Even if the discoloration does not appear there are still beneficial changes in the texture, temperature, and appearance of the skin and myofascia.
Styles of Cupping
All cups have a way to create a negative pressure. The most common styles of cups we see today are fire cups, external pump cups, silicone cups, and facial cups.
Fire Cupping
How Fire Cupping Works
Fire cupping uses simple cups made of non-flammable material, usually glass but sometimes bamboo or ceramic. A vacuum is created by removing the oxygen in the cup with a controlled flame, such as a lit cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol or a small charcoal on a metal handle. The flame is inserted into the cup and quickly removed and the cup placed on the skin. The vacuum created inside the cup causes the muscle tissues to be pulled up inside.
Fire Cupping and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Fire cups are necessary in order to use several techniques of traditional Chinese medicine including bleeding cupping, herbal medicinal cupping, and combined moxibustion or needling with cupping. Fire cups are the most traditional form and that style has a special place in the heart of many practitioners.
Practical Considerations
Tthe glass cups can get very warm and can create a very strong suction, arguably the strongest potential suction of all the types of cups. The glass cups are easy to clean and disinfect, but can break when dropped, or the rim can become chipped..
Fire cupping is somewhat difficult to learn at first and requires some practice, and there is a danger of burning when not done properly, mostly from the possibility of the cup getting too hot.
Glass cups can glide on the back but do not glide very well on other parts other body, and they are difficult to control the suction level. Overall fire cups are best used by acupuncturists using traditional techniques.
Fire Cupping and Massage Therapy
While cupping is in the scope of practice for massage therapists in most states, fire cupping in particular is not covered by many of the professional massage liability insurance carriers. To find out if this applies to you check with your state massage board and professional liability insurance carrier.
External Pump Cups
This style of cups usually come in a set of multiple size cups made of either plastic or polycarbonate, with an external pump. Suction is created by using the pump to draw the muscle tissues inside the attached cup. The most common type is the hand pump or pump gun, but there also exists a machine pump.
How External Pump Cups Work
The cups pop right into the pump and suction is created by squeezing the pump or setting the machine. With the pump it is possible to control the suction easily, and without taking the cup off the body. External pump cups can be used for self-care even on the back and shoulders. They attach easily to areas around joints such as elbows, wrists, the lateral and posterior neck, knees, and ankles.
These cups are somewhat difficult to clean and properly disinfect because of the valve in the cups and the possibility of body fluids entering the pump. The cheaper plastic cups are breakable, the polycarbonate cups are much more sturdy. With their thin rim and domed shape these cups are difficult to do gliding techniques.
The biggest cups in the sets still tend to be smaller than the large fire cups or silicone cups. However in the machine pump sets there are very large cups.
Silicone Cups
Silicone cups are made of medical-grade silicone and are self-suctioning. The common types are the mushroom shaped cups and the dome shaped cups.
The technique of squeezing and applying the cup to the body can be mastered in minutes. These cups contour to the body and glide easily. They can be easily cleaned and disinfected, and do not break down, fray, or lose shape over time.
Amplifying the Suction
Even though silicone cups have limited suction compared to other styles, it is possible to amplify the suction by placing multiple cups in one area, or by pulling up on the cup when gliding. The mushroom shaped cups are easier to glide and provide greater suction than the dome shaped cups.
The quality varies somewhat, which is true of all the styles of cups. Be wary of silicone cups that have a visible center seam, which shows a cheap manufacturing process and compromises the smoothness of the cup.
The mushroom shaped silicone cups are better to use in clinical practice because they get strong suction than the dome shaped cups and are easier to grip for gliding. The silicone cups are easy to clean and disinfect, they never break when dropped, and are not destroyed by oil like equipment made from vinyl.
Facial and Jaw Cupping
Facial cupping requires specialized cups with very limited suction. Facial cups are either very small cylindrical glass cups with a small rubber bulb, or small conical silicon cups. The technique can be a gentle pumping suction to mimic the lymphatic system or gliding along the face. Facial cupping is meant to improve circulation of blood and fluid and is generally for cosmetic purposes.
Jaw cupping uses a slightly larger cup, usually the largest in the glass facial cupping set and is applies to the muscles of the jaw for therapeutic decompression. This technique is more likely to leave discoloration on the face but is very effective for TMD, facial tension, neck pain, and headaches.