Cupping

Chinese Cupping Therapy is often used in conjunction with more commonly known forms of traditional Chinese medicine treatments and methods such as acupuncture and acupressure.

The basic idea behind cupping therapy is to place glass cups or silicone cups on the patient’s skin to create a vacuum, so the blood is drawn to the surface of the skin in specific parts of the body that need healing. Traditional Chinese practitioners discuss different areas, or meridians, of the body that are used to transfer energy. They believe each body has twelve different meridians and treatment can be applied to each meridian for a myriad of reasons.

Alternative medicine is defined as any form of medical treatment that is used in the place of traditional therapies or traditional and modern scientific medicine and practices. Alternative medicine claims to provide healing effects that other forms of medicinal therapy have not been proven to work. Alternative medicine is quickly growing in popularity as a way to promote the same healing properties that can be found in traditional medicine but without the risk of the same side effects.

Three different traditional cupping methods have been used. These methods include dry cupping, wet cupping, and massage cupping.

Dry Cupping

During a dry cupping session, the glass cup or vessel is set on fire using a flammable substance such as alcohol or herbs. The fire begins to go out, and the alternative medicine practitioner places the glass therapy cup on the surface of the patient’s skin.

As the therapy cup cools, it creates a vacuum or suction. The skin will rise into the glass cup and will begin to redden. Typically, these glass or silicone cups are set in place for up to three minutes at a time. But some treatments require longer times and can last up to twenty minutes.

Dry cupping produces a low amount of pressure. The cups are better suited for use on the softer tissue so that a secure and tight seal is allowed against the skin. The skin may also be lubricated so that the cups can be moved around from one area to a larger area.

Wet Cupping

Wet cupping produces a milder suction or vacuum and can also be kept in place for up to three minutes like dry cupping therapy. However, during a wet cupping therapy session, the cupping therapist will make small cuts on the patient’s skin, typically by using a sterilized scalpel and then perform a second cupping session to draw out some of the blood. It can take up to ten days for the patient’s skin to return to normal after a wet cupping therapy session. It is important that the skin is cleaned before and after a wet cupping therapy session so that any risk of infection can be avoided.

In Arabic culture, wet cupping is also known as Hijama or medicinal bleeding. Wet cupping is popular in most Muslim areas of the world and has been reported to be used by the Islamic prophet, Muhammed.

In Chinese culture, the cupping methods are used to help improve respiratory ailments such as pneumonia and bronchitis, along with the common cold and other chest infections. Wet cupping is a form of bloodletting and is used to remove stagnant blood, expel heat, and provide pain relief. It is imperative that the environment in which the wet cupping therapy is performed is clean and sterilized to prevent infection to the treatment sites.

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