Cupping Therapy: Does it Improve Athletic Abilities?

Cupping therapy is an ancient form of medicine that was practiced by the Egyptians and Macedonians around 5500 years ago and spread to numerous parts of the world. It has begun to regain popularity here in the United States. Although cupping is being seen more often in the athletic world, physical therapists are using it more and more in the general population to assist with improving a patient’s daily function and pain.

What Is Cupping Therapy?

This form of alternative medicine involves a practitioner putting special cups on the skin for a few minutes to create suction for a therapeutic effect. Cupping aims to reduce pain and inflammation, decrease muscle tightness and improve blood flow. While it is a low-risk therapy, the technique leaves behind painless circular reddish/purple marks which are a result of blood being pulled up closer to the surface of the skin.

Cupping may ease the symptoms of:

• Back, neck, knee or shoulder pain
• Asthma and other breathing issues
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Gastrointestinal disorders like irritable bowel disease
• Headaches or migraines
• High blood pressure
• Arthritis

Wet vs Dry Cupping

There are two popular types of cupping, dry cupping and wet cupping. In both of these techniques one or multiple cups may be used depending on the practitioner’s preference.

Wet cupping involves using a needle to lightly puncture the skin before placing the cups. The drawing of blood is thought to improve circulation and remove toxins from the cupped area.

During dry cupping, cups are placed on the skin for 5-20 minutes and may be left in place or moved along the skin in a gliding fashion to decrease tissue tension and improve mobility. Once the cups are placed a patient can be instructed on specific movements to further promote relief to the designated body region and reduce pain with exercise. Traditionally therapists would use fire to heat the cups to create suction but now the suction is typically created by hand-held pumps.

How Effective Is Cupping?

There’s mixed evidence about the effectiveness of cupping and why it may or may not work. The potential effects of cupping therapy include:

• Promoting blood flow
• Increasing pain thresholds
• Reducing inflammation
• Reduce cholesterol
• Increase red blood cells
• Encourage whole-body comfort and relaxation
• Tissue decompression and improving range of motion

Used in conjunction with other therapeutic treatments and not as a sole solution, cupping can be a great tool for therapists to use during their daily treatments to improve a patient’s mobility and musculoskeletal pain.