Practitioners have used cupping for thousands of years to treat a wide variety of symptoms. In traditional cupping, the practitioner heats the air inside a glass to cause it to expand, then put the glass on the patient's body. As the glass cools, the air inside contracts creating suction that pulls on the part of the body under the cup. Modern cupping massage combines cupping with various massage techniques. Scientists have yet to study cupping massage, so it is not known which of its claimed benefits are accurate.
Relaxation
Cupping massage is a tool that massage therapists use to relax the body, and it has the same benefits as other massage techniques. Cupping massage releases muscle tension, relaxes connective tissue and improves blood flow. It can alleviate pain and stiffness and help heal injured muscles or tissue. Like traditional massage, cupping massage can also help reduce blood pressure and mental tension. Cupping massage is physically less demanding than some other massage techniques such as deep tissue massage, allowing the massage therapist to expend less energy on the bodywork.
Toxins and Energies
Cupping is an ancient part of folk medicine and is associated with folk theories of body energy. Cupping practitioners believe that their practice can help unlock stagnant energy and allow the life force to circulate more freely through the body, thus conferring good health. They also believe cupping can bring "toxins" or bad energy to the surface of the skin through the low pressure of the cup. These toxins are then sucked out of the body, eliminating factors causing disease and poor health. In particular, practitioners have traditionally used cupping to treat respiratory conditions and diseases such as coughing, asthma, allergies and bronchitis.
Depression and Digestion
The energy flows that cupping massage enhances are thought to directly contribute to both mental and physical energy level. The mental benefits of cupping massage include reduced depression, anxiety, lethargy, cloudy-headedness and other emotional symptoms related to low energy. It is popular among people with fibromyalgia who frequently suffer from these sorts of mental symptoms along with pain and stiffness. The physical benefits of cupping massage include improved digestion, weight control and alleviation of a number of digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease.
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