ADVERTISING: Advertorial — DR. WAYNE M. FICHTER: What is cupping and does it work?
Cupping is a traditional Chinese healing art dating at least as far back as 1550 BC. Some people suggest that cupping may only have a placebo effect, but this hasn’t deterred those suffering from chronic pain from seeking its healing ability. Let’s take a look at the art of cupping and its health benefits to see if cupping is right for you.
The practice of cupping is based on the belief that certain health problems can be caused by poor energy flow or stagnant blood flow through our body. To help prevent or fix those health issues, cupping practitioners apply cups made of glass or silicone to your skin to create a pressure that sucks or pulls your skin and fascia outward and in turn draws blood to the affected area. This increases blood flow and, at the same time works to relieve muscle tension, improve circulation and reduce inflammation.
During a cupping treatment, a cup is heated or suctioned onto the skin. Some modern cupping practitioners have shifted to using cups with pumps or silicone cups to create suction versus traditional heating methods. Regardless of the source, when the cup is placed on the skin, the air inside the cup creates a vacuum that draws the skin, fascia and muscle upward into the cup.
What are the health benefits?
More studies are definitely needed to gauge its true effectiveness, but cupping has already been utilized as an adjunct procedure for a wide variety of conditions, especially chronic neck, back and shoulder pain. When people are suffering from physical pain, inflammation is often a byproduct. In theory, cupping improves circulation in that area by attracting immune cells to that area to help the recovery process and reduce inflammation. A study paper in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine notes that professional athletes are increasingly using cupping therapy as part of their recovery practices.
Are there any risks involved with cupping?
Most medical experts agree that cupping is a safe procedure. There are limited side effects. At times, a pinching sensation is experienced during skin suction, and skin may turn red as the blood vessels respond to the change in pressure and leave red circular markings. Those red circles are temporary and a result of old fluid and blood being brought to the surface. They usually disappear within ten days. Some contraindications for cupping would be open wounds, deep vein thrombosis, renal failure, those on blood thinners and bone fractures.
If you’re like many people suffering from chronic pain and hoping for a natural solution, cupping may just work for you. So are you ready to explore the world of cupping?
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Dr. Wayne M. Fichter Jr. is a chiropractor at Natural Spine Solutions. The business is located at 3913 Schreiber Way in Coeur d’Alene, 208-966-4425.