Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative therapy where a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. The idea is to draw blood to or away from parts of your body. People get it for many reasons, such as pain and inflammation relief, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage.
Types of Cupping Therapy
The two main types of cupping are:
- Dry
- Wet
For either type, in the traditional method (fire cupping), your healer puts a flammable substance such as alcohol, herbs, or paper, inside a cup and sets it on fire. As the fire goes out, they put the cup upside down on your skin.
When the air inside the cup cools, it creates a vacuum. This causes your skin to rise and redden as your blood vessels expand.
Dry cupping therapy
Dry cupping is simple and is the preferred method in the West because it’s easy to do and doesn’t involve blood. The therapist just applies the cups to your skin, compressing them with their hands, a pump, or a flame if using glass cups. (They may apply lotion first). They leave the cups in place for 5-10 minutes. You can have this therapy done as often as once or twice a week.
Dry cupping may be combined with a massage. This is called massage cupping or running cupping. Your therapist puts lotion or oil on your skin and moves silicone cups back and forth, up and down, or in circles on your skin for a like effect.
Dry cupping is meant to increase blood flow while removing fluids and toxins from the area being treated. The fluids are said to have high levels of substances related to diseases.
Wet cupping
In wet cupping, your therapist first creates a mild suction by leaving a cup on your back for about 3 minutes. They remove the cup and use a small scalpel to make light, tiny cuts on your skin. Next, they do a second suction to draw out a small quantity of blood. They might leave those cups in place for 10-15 minutes
The idea is the cuts attract inflammatory cells and cause the release of natural pain relievers and mood enhancers called endogenous opioids. These help your body fight infections and maintain immunity.
You might get three to five cups in your first session. Or you might just try one to see how it goes. It’s rare to get more than five to seven cups, the British Cupping Society notes.
After treatment, you’ll get an antibiotic ointment and bandage to prevent infection. Your skin should look normal again within 10 days. You can repeat wet cupping every 4-8 weeks.
Wet cupping can also be done in a two-step version where your therapist doesn’t start with suction but first makes cuts in the skin and then applies the suction cups.