Acupuncture & Physical Therapy Clinic

Cupping

1. What is it?

Cupping is a technique that is especially useful in the treatment of problems of local Qi, or Blood stagnation in the channels. It can also be very helpful in expelling the external pathogenic factor of 'Wind-Cold' that can invade the Lungs. Cupping is an ancient technique that is still used by modern practictioners. This form of treatment is usually performed as an alternative to acupuncture: the cups are placed over acupuncture points but they treat a larger area of the body.

2. What is a 'cup'?

Cups are either of robust, rounded glass construction or of bamboo. Other materials have been used, but practitioners in the West tend to use glass. Caution: on no account should "do- it-yourself" cupping be undertaken with items such as jars and glasses. Cupping creates a strong vacuum, and an inappropriate vessel may shatter and cause injury.

3. How does it work?

In this technique, a burning taper is held for a very short period of time inside the cup, before the cup is immediately placed down over the selected area. (see figure below)

Cupping on a patient....

Because the taper flame exhausts all oxygen in the cup, a vacuum is created; this anchors the cup to the skin and draws up the skin beneath the cup. The effect of this is to encourage the flow of Qi and Blood in the area beneath the cup. By this means, local stagnation begins to clear.

The strength of the vacuum depends on the amount of oxygen burned in the cup and on the skill of the practitioner in quickly placing the cup in the appropriate position. In some instances the cup is retained in the same position for a considerable time, while in others it is removed quickly and placed elsewhere on the body. For example, when cupping is used to expel 'Wind-Cold' from the Lungs, several cups may be placed over the lung area on the back, and regularly removed and replaced until the whole area to be treated has been thoroughly covered.

4. What is 'Moving' cupping?

In "moving cupping" an area of the body is lightly smeared with oil or soap and the applied cup is drawn around with the vacuum intact, thus encouraging a more generalized movement of Qi and Blood in the area.

Points to Note;

• Cupping draws blood to the external capillaries of the body, and as a result minor weals or bruises may be left after treatment.
• If cups are retained in any one spot for any length of time, the marking may be quite considerable. Any practitioner using cupping on his/her patients should explain that this marking is a possible consequence of treatment.