I get questions all the time about what the hickey-like bruises are on my back. My initial response: “I got in a fight with an octopus…I won”. I wait for their confused reaction and then tell them what it actually is, cupping. If you haven’t been cupped, I suggest you give it a try. You’ll feel like a different person after it, especially if your body feels sore or weak.

What is Cupping?

Cupping is a form of alternative medicine that dates back all the way to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cultures. Yep, I said that right. It isn’t just a fad that Olympians started a few years back. Cupping is where cups are placed on the skin and provide suction. Cups can be made from various materials such as glass, hard plastic, bamboo, or silicone. Cupping can be done using fire or vacuum equipment. When the fire is placed under the cup, the oxygen is depleted and when placed on the skin, a vacuum is created. The most popular form of cupping in modern America is through equipment. A tube-like device is placed on top of the cup that is placed on the skin and suction is gradually added through a pump. Below, you can see images of both. Cups can stay in place where the area may be sore, or cups can be gilded (with massage oil) across the skin to create a massage-like feeling.

How Does Cupping Work?

It is thought that when we feel sore (from working out, moving the wrong way, sleeping in a weird position, etc.), it isn’t necessarily our muscles that are sore but rather our fascia is sore. Fascia is also known as the connective tissue that surrounds muscles. Yes, your muscles may feel fatigued from lifting heavy and they could also be sore, but your fascia is the part that needs extra love and care through stretching, icing, and even cupping.

Cupping stimulates blood flow to the fascia and skin, allowing the fascia to repair itself at quicker rates, leading to an immune response. The response reaches the muscle allowing relaxation. This relieves soreness and allows for the body to rejuvenate at a quicker rate. Cupping can be applied to most parts of the body, the most commonplace being the back and neck.

The Benefits of Cupping

As stated above, cupping helps relieve sore spots in the body and reduces aches and pains without medication. but cupping has more benefits than just that. Though there has been limited research on cupping, it has been shown to also help these problems and more:

– Congestion
– The digestive system
– Sleep
– The immune system
– Allergies
– Cellulite
– Acne
– Stress and anxiety

Cupping does leave marks on the skin that usually don’t last more than a week but can leave the body in as early as 2-3 days. The way that I would describe cupping is like a reverse massage. Instead of kneading into the tissue and sore spots, you are extracting tension through pulling it out, releasing toxins. It’s hard to say if a massage or cupping is better because research is so limited, and each person responds to feeling differently. I would suggest trying both and seeing what feels better to you. We all feel soreness differently. We all have different pain tolerances. And we all like different feelings. I’ve noticed that cupping is better for me when I am sore from working out and massages are better when my body just feels tired. Give each a try and see what works best for you. I’d love to hear your response to cupping in the comments below!