WHAT IS CUPPING

If you ask WebMD, you will get this answer: 

"Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. People get it for many purposes, including to help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage."

However, I use cupping therapy a little different than most traditional cupping practitioners.

First, I use Silicone Cups for my cupping instead of fire cupping with glass cups.

Second, I incorporate cupping directly into my massage and move the cups right along with my massage strokes until I find troubled areas where I can focus my cupping therapy. This allows me to leverage the complementary benefits derived from creating a localized vacuum (negative pressure) with the benefits derived from manual tissue manipulation (positive pressure), joint manipulation, and relaxation work. 

Third, I do not usually leave the ubiquitous big round cupping marks that most practitioners leave (unless it is necessary or you want that type of cupping).

Fourth, Just as there are different levels of manual pressure in massage therapy, there are also different levels of vacuum or negative pressure used in Massage Cupping Therapy from very light to very “heavy”. I only use the pressure that I feel that your body needs in that specific area and I am constantly monitoring the pressure for effectiveness and comfort.

BENEFITS OF CUPPING THERAPY

The benefits of cupping therapy are widely debated, so I will leave that to "them" to debate and hopefully eventually prove. Personally, I believe that the vacuum created by the suction effect of the cups increases blood and lymphatic circulation systemically and locally, relaxes muscle and connective tissue, draws out “stagnation”, pathogenic factors and toxins from the tissues, and releases a myriad of pain-causing factors…and that is in addition to the physiological and relaxation benefits of my Deep Lomi massage.

Silicone cups come in many different sizes and they easily change shape; making for an amazing array of places these cups can fit and be used on the body. Silicone cups are supple and are therefore pretty easy to manipulate. Places that traditional cups are difficult or impossible to be used on like the elbows, knees, scapulae, hands, feet, abdominals, shoulders, spine, etc., etc., etc. are accessible with these cups.​

Bony prominences are no longer off-limits to these movable, flexible cups. The flexibility of these cups makes them the best choice (for me) in my deep tissue massage, myofascial release, and dynamic cupping during joint manipulations and in my Deep Lomi applications. Their transparency also allows me to see the actual work that I am doing unlike some of the other opaque soft cups available today. If you would like to learn more about cupping or include it in your next session, just let me know when you come in. I also offer classes on cupping for therapists and non-therapists (it is great for athletes or for helping with some chronic conditions!).

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Cupping is also a great form of self-care and it is very easy to do. However, it is a good idea to talk to your healthcare practitioner as well as a qualified cupping practitioner to establish a self-care cupping protocol before you start placing these all over your body.