Cupping and Gua Sha

Cupping is a modality used in Chinese Medicine used for variety of conditions including musculoskeletal pain, allergies, and the common cold. Cups can be made from plastic, glass or bamboo.

Plastic cups use a hand pump to create the pressure while glass cups use a flame quickly inserted inside the cup to burn up the oxygen, which then creates a vaccuum when placed on the body. The cups themselves do not heat up and are retained for about 10-15 minutes. Cupping should feel like a deep tissue massage.

Cupping works by causing a reverse pressure to stretch muscle and tissue away from the bone and increase circulation to loosen stiff muscle fibers. The stretching combined with increased circulation to an area promote fresh blood flow to bring fresh oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, stimulating the lymphatic system by releasing and clearing toxins, and promote quicker healing.

Cupping can leave marks that usually range from pink, red, to purple depending on how much tension is in the area. These marks usually last from a few days to a week and are not painful.

Cupping therapy helps with calming the nervous system, easing muscular pain and stiffness, detoxifying muscle and tissues, clear stuffiness and congestion in the lungs, boost the immune system.