Vol. 38–Cupping Therapy Explored: Types, Benefits, and Risks

Quick Look 👀

1 oz of water to garden your health

1 Budding Tweet

2 Weeds to avoid

2 Websites to cultivate your garden

Random Musings

Reading Time: 4 minutes and 32 seconds

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by cupping therapy.

We often see athletes, friends, or other people we know with circular “hickey” marks all over their bodies. Micheal Phelps, NBA players, and other Olympic athletes use cupping therapy for muscle recovery.

So should we be doing it too, to recover faster? What does the research say? Is it another gimmick?

Let’s find out.

Action to water your health

Cupping Therapy. This practice dates back to Eber's papyrus (1550 BC) from Ancient Egypt. The practice involves the application of cups to specific points on the skin, which creates a vacuum either by suction or through the use of heat.

Classifications. Cupping therapy can get technical, I thought it was simply placing some cups on the skin with suction… done, right? not quite.

Early classification of cupping therapy: dry and wet cupping

• An updated classification of cupping therapy (2013):

• 1. Technical types: dry, wet, massage, and flash cupping

• 2. Power of suction: light, medium, and strong cupping

• 3. Method of suction: fire, manual vacuum, and electrical vacuum cupping

• 4. Materials inside cups: herbal, water, ozone, moxa, needle, and magnetic cupping

• 5. The area treated: facial, abdominal, female, male, and orthopedic cuppingOther cupping types: sports, cosmetic, and aquatic cupping

There are also different types of cupping sets from plastic, glass, rubber, and metal to bamboo.

So who should get cupping? Don’t be tricked. This journal article from “journal of acupuncture” showed these indications [1].

1. Localized diseases:

• Lower back pain

• Neck and shoulder pain

• Knee pain

2. Systematic diseases:

• Diabetes mellitus

• Hypertension

• Rheumatoid arthritis

3. Other conditions:

• Headache and migraine

• Facial paralysis

• Brachialgia

• Carpal tunnel syndrome

• Asthma

Please DO NOT get cupping therapy to treat your diabetes or other chronic diseases NOT related to muscle symptoms. All the randomized control trials I’ve read show it improves and reduces muscle tension and pain relief, ONLY.

This study showed cupping therapy significantly decreased the intensity of pain scores and ODI ( level of disability or impairment a patient with low back pain experiences in their daily activities) scores for patients with low back pain compared to the control management [2].

Carpal tunnel. This study suggests that cupping therapy may be effective in relieving pain and other symptoms related to carpal tunnel syndrome [3].

Chronic neck and shoulder pain. This study found that chronic neck and shoulder which affects ~17-78% of the U.S. population, was decreased with using cupping therapy.

Downsides of Cupping Therapy.

Preventable cupping adverse events:

• Scar formation: Cupping therapy may cause skin injury, which can result in scar formation. This can happen due to excessive suction or improper placement of cups.

• Burn: Cupping therapy involves the use of heat, which can cause burns if the cups are left in place for too long or placed on sensitive skin areas.

• Bullae formation: Bullae are large fluid-filled blisters that can develop due to excessive suction or prolonged cupping.

• Abscess and skin infection: Cupping therapy involves breaking the skin, which can lead to infection if proper hygiene is not maintained.

• Pruritus: Pruritus is a severe itching sensation that can occur due to skin irritation caused by cupping therapy.

• Anemia: Cupping therapy can cause anemia due to the release of blood during wet cupping.

Nonpreventable cupping adverse event:

• Koebner phenomenon

• Headaches

• Dizziness

• Tiredness

• Vasovagal attack

• Nausea

• Insomnia

Although rare you can develop necrotizing fasciitis, as in this case report. Or even intraperitoneal hemorrhage as in this report.

How does it work? No one really knows, but six theories have been suggested to explain the effects produced by cupping therapy:

1. Pain-Gate Theory, Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Controls, and Reflex zone theory explain pain reduction and changes in the biomechanical properties of the skin.

2. Nitric Oxide theory explains muscle relaxation, changes in local tissue structures, and increased blood circulation.

3. Activation of immune system theory to explain immunological effects and hormonal adjustments.

4. Blood Detoxification Theory explains releasing toxins and the removal of wastes and heavy metals.

Generally cupping therapy is believed to work by promoting blood flow to the affected area, thereby increasing oxygen and nutrient delivery and removing waste products. The suction created by the cups is thought to draw blood to the skin surface and underlying tissues, causing local inflammation and triggering the release of substances that promote healing.

Action: 

If you have chronic muscle pain or even acute, cupping therapy could help relieve muscle pain and tension. Might be worth a shot!

But please know cupping therapy is not without risks.

Budding Tweet

Looks like you can use anything for cupping! doesn’t just have to be a literal cup. Just has to provide negative suction. Great reminder.

Weeds to avoid

1️⃣ Not making your daily “most important thing” you want to accomplish. It could be anything. But accomplishing that “one” thing helps set you up for success, for the rest of your day.

2️⃣ Did you know there are water sommeliers? Martin Rise does an awesome job explaining the different types of water, their water source, and how they fool you at times into buying expensive tap water.

Websites to cultivate your garden

Fabric: A collaborative internet filespace. All your bookmarks, ideas, and files together in a tool that just works. Designed for busy makers and thinkers.

Slightly different than other apps as it provides more collaboration.

Flipclocker: This would look awesome on my desktop or screen saver. Might end up changing to it.

Random Musings

You're an awesome human

Martin, CEO of braincrumbss

Stuff I created, that you might find helpful.

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