Have you noticed more and more celebrities showing up to events with little round marks on their backs? These come from cupping therapy. But what is it?
Cupping is a type of alternative therapy that involves placing cups on the skin to create suction. This suction is thought to improve the flow of energy in the body and facilitate healing.
One of the oldest medical texts to mention cupping therapy is Eber’s papyrus (1550 B.C.) from Ancient Egypt, though cupping is a part of many ancient healing systems, including Chinese, Unani, traditional Korean, and Tibetan.
Greek physician Hippocrates, often referred to as the “father” of medicine, even compiled descriptions of cupping techniques.
These days, cupping therapy is usually found as a treatment offered by practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Proponents believe the suction helps facilitate the flow of “qi” in the body. Qi is a Chinese word meaning life force.
Many believe that cupping helps balance yin and yang, or the negative and positive, within the body. Restoring balance between these two extremes is thought to help with the body’s resistance to pathogens as well as its ability to increase blood flow and reduce pain.
Cupping increases blood circulation to the area where the cups are placed. This may relieve muscle tension, which can improve overall blood flow and promote cell repair. It may also help form new connective tissues and create new blood vessels in the tissue.
People use cupping to complement their care for a host of symptoms and conditions.
There is a growing body of research digging into how and why cupping may work.
A 2018 review of studies noted that cupping therapy has reported benefits for a variety of conditions that can be categorized as either localized or systematic diseases.
Cupping is thought to alleviate symptoms by promoting peripheral (close to the skin) blood circulation and improving immunity.
According to the 2018 review, the effects of cupping therapy include:
- promoting the skin’s blood flow
- changing the skin’s biomechanical properties
- increasing pain thresholds
- improving local anaerobic (without oxygen) metabolism
- reducing inflammation
- boosting cellular immunity
According to a 2017 study, the mechanical effect of cupping increases local blood flow and stretches underlying tissue.
Activation of Heme oxygenase-1, a gene that plays a critical role in the prevention of vascular inflammation, could account for many of cupping therapy’s claimed local and systemic health benefits.
A 2019 study noted that no single theory exists to explain the whole effects of cupping, but some theories include:
- altering pain signal processing
- using counter-irritation, or pain to reduce pain
- stimulating increased blood circulation through the release of nitric oxide
- stimulating the immune system with artificial local inflammation
- increasing the level of immune products, such as interferon and tumor necrotizing factor
- increasing the flow of lymph in the lymphatic system
- decreasing uric acid and both types of cholesterol
- changing the molecular structure and function of hemoglobin (Hb)
Despite multiple theories, more quality research is needed to confirm the effects of cupping as well as the mechanisms by which they may or may not support healing.