Integrative Health Blog

Cupping, An Ancient Cure That's Making a Comeback

Posted by admin on Mon, Feb 13, 2012

cupping_chinese_medicineCupping has been used for thousands of years in Africa, the Middle East and in China.  In fact, some of the oldest descriptions of cupping date back to 1,550 BC in the Ebers papyrus, one of the oldest existing medical texts unearthed in Egypt. Chinese medicine practitioners have been using cupping for over 3000 years for everything from the common cold to trauma to internal disease.  In fact, the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad describe cupping as an approved treatment and even go on to say “"The Hijama (cupping) is the best of your remedies". 

Using fire to create suction inside of a glass/ bone/ bamboo “cup”, the device adheres to the skin lifting the fascia and separating it from the sub-fascia to unblock stagnation of Qi (vital energy, an essential component of Chinese Medicine), blood, lymph or tissue.  It feels a bit like a deep tissue massage at times and can either be stationary or moving cups based on the individual case.

Recently, a Hollywood starlet raised a stir when she strolled the red carpet proudly displaying the telltale circular marks that sometimes result from a cupping session.  Needless to say, the red marks do eventually go away and you are left with much relief from what ails you!

As a matter of fact, the Washington Post just ran an interesting story on Cupping, give it a read! See Washington Post Cupping story.

To learn more about cupping, Classical Chinese Medicine or acupuncture and about ancient medicine, please schedule with our highly skilled acupuncturists.

 

Topics: cupping, chinese medicine