Indigenous Treatments: Cupping

It is said that no other therapy can move the blood and vital energy faster than cupping in order to restore balance and harmony in the body. Cupping is a treatment in which warm vacuum cups are applied to acupuncture points. Cupping is performed as an alternative to or in combination with acupuncture and moxibustion (the practice of burning an herb on skin). Transparent glass cups are used so that the progress of the cupping procedure can be observed.

The cup is warmed by burning an alcohol-soaked cotton ball inside the cup for a short period of time. The cup is then quickly placed over the selected acupuncture point, affected skin, or painful area of the body. The heating of the cups creates suction that seals the skin around cup. The flame works to remove all of the oxygen from the cup; when placed on the skin, a vacuum is created, fixing the cup onto the skin and raising the skin into the glass. The cups are moved along the surface of the skin, maintaining the suction between the skin and the cup. The application of warm vegetable or herb oil to the skin helps the cup to move around smoothly.

Cupping is performed for about 5 to 15 minutes. The cup is unsealed by putting pressure on the skin along the rim of the cup. Sometimes, bloodletting is performed by pricking a vein and then applying the cup. Cupping promotes blood circulation and treats coldness, blood stagnation, pain, and swelling. The pressure created by the cupping encourages the flow of vital energy (qi, ki, or chi) and blood in the area beneath the cup, and the local stagnation begins to clear.

Cupping leaves redness with congestion of the blood on the skin. Cupping is commonly applied immediately after acupuncture or bloodletting. The cupping method combined with bloodletting is used to treat acute sprains accompanied by blood stasis. Cupping is performed to heal pain, gastrointestinal ailments, hypertension, cold, anemia, asthma, boils, carbuncles, cough, constipation, varicose veins, and lung disease. Cupping can also be used for tonification or reduction to bring holistic harmony. According to recent research, cupping can also be applied for the treatment of head pain, frozen shoulder, acne, acute trigeminal neuralgia, and lumbar sprain. Cupping is contraindicated for inflamed skin, high fever, convulsions, and bleeding, and should not be applied to the abdominal and lower sacral regions of pregnant women.

The cupping method functions to warm and promote the free flow of vital energy and blood in the meridians, dispel cold and dampness, and diminish swelling and pain. In clinics, the cupping method is used to treat disorders caused by wind dampness, such as pain of the low back, shoulders, and legs; gastrointestinal disorders such as stomachache, vomiting, and diarrhea; and lung diseases such as asthma. When cupping is combined with the bloodletting technique, the skin is first sterilized, a small vein is pricked with a sterile needle, and then the cupping is applied. Cupping can be practiced by laypeople.