Cupping increases blood flow to an area in which it is placed, which can help relieve muscle tension, promote cell repair and relieve symptoms of temporary and chronic health conditions. Cupping should not replace regular doctor visits when treating such ailments; rather it should serve as an additional aid.
Dry cupping Melbourne may leave red or blue marks where its cups come into contact with your skin, although these tend to fade within one or two weeks.
Benefits
Cupping therapy has many beneficial properties to offer: relieving pain, relaxing stiff muscles and tendons, improving circulation and flexibility, loosen adhesions, reduce inflammation, stimulate lymphatic flow, build new connective tissue quickly and help release toxins. It is especially helpful for athletes and active individuals needing to recover quickly after injuries as well as those struggling with fatigue or chronic illnesses.
However, this treatment may not be suitable for everyone, including those suffering from liver, kidney or heart failure; those utilizing pacemakers; blood disorders (such as hemophilia); skin infections; open wounds and certain cancers – among others.
There are two primary forms of cupping: wet and dry. When engaging in wet cupping, practitioners typically light flammable substances like herbs, alcohol or paper in their cups before inverting them over your skin to create suction. Dry cupping doesn’t involve burning anything – instead relying on negative pressure to stimulate blood flow instead. Both forms leave behind circular bruises on the skin that often vanish within 10 days.
Side effects
Cupping may cause temporary marks that resemble bruises on the skin due to negative pressure breaking capillaries and increasing blood flow to the treated area, helping release toxins while simultaneously stimulating healing at a cellular level.
Wet cupping involves puncturing the skin with needles to draw blood into cups before applying them, which may lead to infections if not sterilized between uses and can result in bleeding at incision sites. Dry cupping does not involve puncturing, puncturing needles into or puncturing needles into skin to draw it out for collection into cups before treatment and can reduce potential infection risks by keeping cups clean between treatments and application of cups to the incision sites.
Mild body aches may arise following cupping therapy; these should only be temporary and a sign that it’s working. To alleviate these symptoms, drink lots of water and relax. Caffeine intake after treatment could interfere with its natural detoxifying processes; for best results it’s wise to consult your physical therapist regarding any queries or concerns before beginning cupping therapy.
Getting started
No matter if you’re an Olympic athlete looking to improve performance or just someone looking for muscle and joint pain relief, cupping is a fantastic alternative to medication. But in order to do it safely and effectively, finding a practitioner who understands how it works is key.
Cupping therapy comes in two varieties, dry and wet. When dry cupping is performed, providers typically place a cup full of alcohol, herbs or paper inside and light it on fire before setting it ablaze to release oxygen into the cup thereby creating a vacuum effect – this cup will then be placed onto your skin for three minutes to allow any effects from burning to have their maximum benefit.
After your treatment, you may experience what appears to be bruising on the skin as a side effect of stimulation, though any red circular marks should fade within one week. Patients over 60 may also feel dizzy after receiving care.
FAQ
Many Physical Therapists incorporate cupping therapy into their treatments as it provides many therapeutic benefits including pain and inflammation reduction, sedation of the nervous system, increased circulation to the area treated, softening of adhesions and stiff connective tissue as well as draining of toxins. The marks that appear on the skin ranging in color from light pink to dark purple result from the suction effect pulling blood closer to the surface of the skin, thus releasing stagnation and allowing fresh oxygenated blood to circulate to the area as well as flushing away metabolic waste products.
Cupping is safe and effective when performed by a registered massage therapist. It is recommended that you consult your doctor before starting any treatment to ensure this modality is appropriate for you. It is also not a good choice for people with liver or kidney disease, heart conditions or on blood thinners. However, this therapy can be used in conjunction with acupuncture to help provide the most comprehensive treatment.
