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Traditional Chinese Medicine Cupping Therapy
Traditional Chinese medicine cupping is an age-old method of relieving congestion in the body by using a partial vacuum created in a cup by way of fusing heat or suction.
Cupping has been used as a therapy for thousands of years. It has been used by the Ancient Egyptians, the Greeks and the Chinese. The Ebers Papyrus, the oldest medical book ever found, written in 1550 BC in ancient Egypt, mentions cupping as a therapy.
Traditional Chinese medicine cupping also has a long history of use in the UK… the British medical journal, The Lancet, is named after this practice; a lancet being the tool used to scrape the skin prior to cupping.
Many conditions are helped by it, including back pain, headaches, joint pain, muscular pain, rheumatic disease, sexual disorders, infertility, hypertension (high blood pressure), bed wetting, insomnia, breast enhancement, fever, stroke, colds and flu, chest pain, asthma, blood disorders, diarrhea and constipation.
Sometimes traditional Chinese medicine cupping is used alone; sometimes it is used in conjunction with another method of healing like acupuncture or herbal tinctures.
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Ten Different Methods
There are ten different methods of cupping that are used.
- Light cupping is used on children and the elderly. It utilizes a weak suction that does not injure the delicate tissues in these age groups.
- The medium method is good for most general purposes and uses a medium strength suction.
- A stronger version uses a strong suction… this method is not suitable for everyone.
- Massage or moving cupping is done by applying oil to the skin, then moving the cup or glass around with a weak suction over the area that needs to be worked on.
- The needle method is a combination of acupuncture and cupping. The acupuncture needle is applied first, and then the glass is applied over it.
- The hot technique is done with moxa, otherwise known as dried mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris). This herb is a warming herb. To do this, a needle is warmed with smouldering dried mugwort and then applied to the appropriate area. A cup is then applied over the top.
- The flash technique is a method where several medium cuppings are done several times in quick succession. This stimulates the tissues in the area to speed healing.
- Bleeding cupping is also known as a Full or Wet method and is the oldest and most effective method. A surgical tool called a lancet is used to scrape the skin, and then the glass is applied. The suction collects blood in the glass cup.
- Herbal cupping is done by applying an appropriate herbal tincture to the inside of the glass, and then it is applied to the skin.
- The water technique is used the least. It is a very difficult method to learn. The glass is filled one third of the way with warm water and held very close to the place where it will be applied. Burning cotton wool is quickly inserted in, while the glass is swiftly turned over and placed on the site. If done correctly, no water spills out.
Traditional Chinese medicine cupping can be used effectively instead of acupuncture in cases where less invasive techniques are preferable. Cupping is a very flexible method of healing and can be used with other modalities of healing and is very effective by itself.
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