What the Cup?
What is cupping?
Cupping has been used since 3000 BCE, it originated in ancient Egypt where it was used to remove toxins from the body [1]. Since then cupping has spread throughout the world and been used in many cultures as a treatment for a variety diseases. Today cupping is mostly seen in traditional eastern medicine, where it is used to correct blockages and help the flow of Qi throughout the body [2]. It involves suctioning special cups to the skin of a patient, in the form of wet cupping or dry cupping. Wet Cupping is invasive and involves suctioning small amounts of blood through minor incisions made in the skin, this means it is usually not performed by physiotherapists in western practices [3].
What is dry cupping?
Dry cupping is non-invasive, as it doesn’t involve exposure to blood. It is mostly used to treat musculoskeletal pain in the chest, stomach, back and buttocks [4]. Smaller cups can also be used to treat regions on the arms and legs.
Cups vary from 38-50mm in diameter and are generally made of plastic or glass [3].
The cup is suctioned and held in place by heating the air in the cup then placing the rim of the cup on the skin so it is air tight, or by suctioning air out of the cup using an air pump after placing it on the skin [3]. This negative pressure inside the cup suctions the skin and feels like your skin and soft tissue underneath is being pulled or stretched. Then it is generally left in place for 5-20 minutes or can be moved around to cover a larger area using lubricant so that it can slide without interrupting the vacuum seal made between the skin and the cup [5].
How does dry cupping work?
The vacuum inside the cup creates a tensile force that stretches the skin, subcutaneous tissue and fascia lying beneath [2]. This also causes the small blood vessels in that area to expand. The larger the cup and more suction created the stronger it stretches the soft body tissues underneath, and the longer it is left in place the more blood that is drawn to that area [2].
This means dry cupping has the potential to be used for a number of benefits such as:
Relieving muscle and surrounding fascia tightness [3]
Aiding muscle and soft tissue healing [6]
Increase blood circulation and aid removal of toxins from muscles [4]
Improve immune function by aiding flow of lymph [6]
Provide pain relief through stimulating pain inhibiting nerves [7]
Promoting deep relaxation [7]
Is it safe?
Yes, provided it is performed by a suitably trained therapist. Patients may feel warmer and may sweat during a cupping treatment, this is just a result of blood vessels expanding and drawing more blood and heat to the skin [3]. Patients may also experience redness, swelling and bruising of areas of skin that have been cupped after a treatment, this is normal and should go away within a few days or weeks [4]. You should not having cupping therapy if you are pregnant, menstruating, have metastatic cancer or have cupping therapy over an area with a bone fracture, deep vein thrombosis, palpable pulse or skin irritation [8].
Complications to cupping are very rare and usually due to a lack of therapist training and incorrect practice, which have lead to only a few reports of skin burns, contamination and pressure wounds [9].
What does research say about the effectiveness of dry cupping?
There have been several studies investigating the treatment effects of dry cupping on a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. The findings of these studies are:
2 weeks of cupping treatment significantly reduced chronic neck pain [10]
2 weeks of pulsating cupping effectively relieved pain, improved function and quality of life in patients with chronic neck pain [11]
Cupping and exercise together is effective in improving neck pain and neck function, and better at improving pain than using a heating pack [12]
Patients with sub acute and chronic lower back pain felt less pain and improved flexibility in their lower back after 1 treatment [13]
Pulsating dry cupping is effective at relieving symptoms of knee osteoarthritis [14]
There is however a need for future studies to focus on confirming comparing these effects to standard treatments as well as understanding long lasting effects of dry cupping.
If you have any questions regarding treating your aches and pains or cupping therapy, please give us a call at (02) 8411 2050. At Thornleigh Performance Physiotherapy, we can give you an accurate diagnosis and treatment, to help you get back in action as soon as possible. We are conveniently located near Beecroft, Cherrybrook, Hornsby, Normanhurst, Pennant Hills, Waitara, Wahroonga, Westleigh, West Pennant Hills, and West Pymble.
References
Nickel, J.C., Management of urinary tract infections: historical perspective and current strategies: part 1—before antibiotics. The Journal of urology, 2005. 173(1): p. 21-26.
Tham, L., H. Lee, and C. Lu, Cupping: from a biomechanical perspective. Journal of biomechanics, 2006. 39(12): p. 2183-2193.
Rozenfeld, E. and L. Kalichman, New is the well-forgotten old: The use of dry cupping in musculoskeletal medicine. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 2016. 20(1): p. 173-178.
Yoo, S.S. and F. Tausk, Cupping: east meets west. International journal of dermatology, 2004. 43(9): p. 664-665.
Turk, J. and E. Allen, Bleeding and cupping. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 1983. 65(2): p. 128.
Ahmadi, A., D.C. Schwebel, and M. Rezaei, The efficacy of wet-cupping in the treatment of tension and migraine headache. The American journal of Chinese medicine, 2008. 36(01): p. 37-44.
Musial, F., D. Spohn, and R. Rolke, Naturopathic reflex therapies for the treatment of chronic back and neck pain-part 1: neurobiological foundations. Complementary Medicine Research, 2013. 20(3): p. 219-224.
Chirali, I.Z., Traditional Chinese medicine: cupping therapy. 1999: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Cao, H., X. Li, and J. Liu, An updated review of the efficacy of cupping therapy. PloS one, 2012. 7(2): p. e31793.
Lauche, R., et al., The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2011. 11(1): p. 63.
Cramer, H., et al., Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Complementary Medicine Research, 2011. 18(6): p. 327-334.
Kim, T.-H., et al., Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. Journal of occupational health, 2012. 54(6): p. 416-426.
Markowski, A., et al., A pilot study analyzing the effects of Chinese cupping as an adjunct treatment for patients with subacute low back pain on relieving pain, improving range of motion, and improving function. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2014. 20(2): p. 113-117.
Teut, M., et al., Pulsatile dry cupping in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee–a randomized controlled exploratory trial. BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2012. 12(1): p. 184.