Cupping has become popularized in the media after celebrities and athletes like Gwyneth Paltrow and Michael Phelps were pictured with the cup marks. Cupping is the use of small cups that are heated or “vacuumed” and then placed on to different parts of the body to create a suction effect. There are different styles of cupping and your practitioner will explain which is the best style for your treatment. Cupping helps stretch the area, muscles and can increase or stimulate blood flow for a variety of reasons. There may be bruising after cupping.
Cupping can be used for:
- pain
- stiffness
- stress or emotions
- migraines
- rheumatism
- cosmetic issues such as reducing the appearance of cellulite.
Gua sha, also known as scraping, coining or spooning is a technique where a small, thin instrument is stroked in a unidirectional area of the body surface to intentionally create transitory therapeutic petechia representing extravasation of the blood in the subcutis. The skin in an eliminative organ, so with modalities like gua sha and cupping they will help pull stagnant blood and toxins out of the body for elimination. The darker the blood the more stagnation. This process allows for increased circulation for fresh blood to move. There is no tissue damage, it doesn’t typically hurt and is primarily an aesthetic. Gua sha stimulates immune and healing responses.
Tui na is Chinese body work or a type of massage or body rub applied to different parts of the body for a variety of reasons. It can be gentle or strong depending on the patient’s constitution and what we are treating. It can be intense in the beginning and ease over time but also be extremely relaxing, effective and treat a variety of disorders at one time.
