Cupping is applied to certain acupuncture points as well as to parts of the body that have been affected by pain or muscle tightness.  The cupping process draws blood from your vessels and into your tissue. Cupping is like a reverse massage, using suction rather than pressure to relax the muscles. Cupping has a positive inflammatory response, mobilising antibodies to the area to try to heal an area, not matter how old the pain are or injury is. The heat and suction also work to bring fresh blood to the area and release blockages there.

How does Cupping relieve Pain?

Cupping helps relieve chronic pain such as lower back pain, neck, shoulder and upper back pain by;

1. Increasing circulation
2. Increasing oxygenation and tissue delivery
3. Remove old stagnant blood
4. Cause micro trauma and beneficial inflammation
5. Create new blood vessels
6. Stretch fascia and connective tissue.
7. Move stagnations of lactic acid and metabolic waste and enable normal lymphatic flow to promote healthy circulation and help strengthen the immune system.

Lower Back Pain

Low back pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder affecting 80% of people at some point in their lives. It is the most common cause of job-related disability, a leading contributor to missed work, and the second most common neurological ailment. Cupping is used in the treatment and cure of a broad range of conditions but particularly good for the lower back as a therapy alone or as an adjunct therapy to Acupuncture. 

In research cupping therapy has shown positive results on chronic back pain (1), the authors even suggesting that cupping therapy is a promising method for the treatment and control of chronic back pain in adults, since it significantly decreases pain intensity scores when compared to control groups.

Neck & Shoulder Pain

Neck & Shoulder pain is the second most common form of pain, fast becoming number one due to our love of technology which sees the user with head hung over the screen placing great pressure eon the upper back, neck and shoulder region. Most of the neck and shoulder pain are caused by tightness in these muscle groups. Alongside postural corrective exercises cupping can reduce pain in this area.

There have been numerous studies on cupping of the neck, and shoulder regon, one systematic review cupping was found to reduce neck pain in patients compared with no intervention or active control groups, or as an add-on treatment (3).

Want to try Traditional Chinese Cupping Therapy?

Cupping therapy can be incorporated into your Acupuncture session or as a Sole Treatment

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References

Balanced Life Health Care | Ferntree Gully Acupuncture | Ferntree Gully Chinese Herbal Medicine | Serving Berwick and Melbourne’s South East including Ferntree Gully, Upper Ferntree Gully, Upway, Tecoma, Boronia, Rowville, Scoresby, Bayswater, The Basin, Croydon, Belgrave, Lysterfield, Knoxfield, Glen Waverley, Wheeler’s Hill, Ringwood, Wantirna South