Cupping Therapy- What is it??

Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a therapist places special cups on the patient’s skin for a few minutes creating a suction seal. The suction and negative pressure inside the cups helps to loosen muscles, encourage blood flow, reduce inflammation, and sedate the nervous system. It has been shown to help with back and neck pain, stiff muscles, anxiety, fatigue, migraines, rheumatism, and even cellulite.

While this form of therapy has only become popular in the United States in the past few years, it can be found in some of the oldest medical textbooks of the Western world including the Ebers Papyrus which was written in 1550 BC. Cupping was used by Hippocrates in ancient Greece for internal disease and structural problems.

A standard cupping treatment at Definition will start with a palpation evaluation while applying a small amount of lubrication to the treatment area. Next the cups will be placed and the air will be pulled out to create the required amount of suction. Cups may be left on the area for 5-15 minutes depending on how many prior treatments the patient has had and the amount of soft tissue in the area. Some larger areas (trapezius, hamstrings) respond well to a treatment called moving cupping where the cup has a lessened amount of suction and is dragged over the soft tissue areas helping to flush out toxins, lactic acid or stagnations.

Using the manual pistons on each individual cup, the pressure is released and the cups are removed. The therapist will then use some Swedish massage strokes to flush out the fluids and toxins loosened while the cups were in place. A final hot towel will be placed on the skin to cleanse & relax the opened pores. This whole process can take 30 minutes to an hour depending on the part(s) of the body being treated.
After a treatment, there may be some circular markings or bruising on the skin. These marking are painless and will generally go away within a few days after treatment.

Schedule your cupping appointment today!