Experts say it’s been used since the fourth century.
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What Is Cupping Therapy?
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That depletes the oxygen inside the cup.
Then the practitioner turns the cup upside down and places it on your skin.
The air inside the cup then cools down, which creates a vacuum.
Of course, glass and flame aren’t the safest materials towork with.
They simply put the cup on your skin and squeeze the pump a fewtimes to get the suction going.
The effect is the same, only without therisk of burns.
Cupping that does not include cutting the skin is known as dry cupping.
It’s often combined with acupuncture.
Cupping for Fibromyalgia
The first Chinese research on cupping as a fibromyalgia treatment was published in 2006.
Researchers used acupuncture, cupping, and the drugamitriptylinein the treatment group and amitriptyline alone in the control group.
They concluded that the acupuncture+cupping+drug group improved significantly more than the drug-only group when it came to bothpainanddepression.
A 2011 study looked at cupping alone.
Thirty people with fibromyalgia were given cupping therapy for 10 minutes a day for 15 days.
Researchers looked at pain andtender-pointcount before, during, and two weeks after treatment.
Is Cupping Right for You?
It’s often performed by acupuncturists and massage therapists.
It also shouldn’t be done on inflamed skin.
Because of that, you may experience more pain than someone else during cupping.
You may want to double-check your practitioner doesn’t put cups on areas where you frequently have allodynia.
If you want to try cupping, talk to your healthcare provider about it first.
If you decide to go ahead with it, check that you’re getting it from a reputable practitioner.
Keep in mind that cupping comes off as an effectivecomplementarytreatment.
Don’t expect it to replace yourmedicationsor other treatments.
Instead, consider it one more weapon in your arsenal againstfibromyalgia symptoms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cupping therapy is generally safe, especially when done correctly.
But there is some risk of side effects like skin discoloration and scarring.
Cupping is thought to relieve musculoskeletal pain like lower back pain and shoulder pain.
Cupping is also purposed to alleviate symptoms of systematic diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
However, more research is needed to conclude if cupping therapy truly works to help treat such conditions.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Cupping.
Aboushanab TS, AlSanad S.Cupping therapy: An overview from a modern medicine perspective.J Acupunct Meridian Stud.
2006;26(1):8-10.
