We are excited to be bringing such a great treatment to A Moment Away.
Cupping will be a great addition to the massage therapy services that we offer here in central Connecticut.
If booking a massage and cupping combo,
the cupping portion must be after the massage
History
Cupping was developed thousands of years ago and though the techniques have modernized, the original philosophy remains the same. Cupping is not exclusive to Traditional Chinese Medicine, variations of this treatment were used by ancient Egyptians, North American Indians, early Greeks, and in other Asian and European countries. Cupping therapy was recommended by Hippocrates, the man whom many consider to be the “Father of Modern Medicine,” in his guide to clinical treatment.
What to Expect:
Cupping involves placing glass, bamboo or plastic jars on the skin and creating a vacuum by suctioning out the air. The underlying tissue is raised, or sucked, partway into the cup. You will usually feel a tight sensation in the area of the cup, often this sensation is relaxing and soothing. Depending on your comfort and your practitioner’s assessment of the problem, cups may be moved around or left in place. They may remain on your body briefly or for longer amounts of time. Each treatment is unique to you on that particular day. One very common area to be cupped is the back, although cups work well on other areas, too — particularly on fleshy sections of the body.
Cupping causes the skin to temporarily turn red, blue or purple, especially if there is an injury or energetic blockage under the area that was cupped. The skin discoloration can last anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks, but is rarely painful. Once the marks have cleared, the procedure can be repeated until the condition or ailment is resolved.
Common Methods:
Fixed Cupping:
The cups are placed on a selected area of your body and then left in place without being moved.
Moving Cupping:
As the name implies, in this method your practitioner applies massage oil or cream on your skin in selected places, puts the cups over the areas to be treated and then slides them around that region of the body — most commonly the back. The cups slide easily because the cream has lubricated the skin.
Benefits
Cupping has numerous benefits — it can help remove toxins from the body and stimulate the flow of fresh blood, lymph, and Qi to the affected area and throughout the body. It often works wonders for patients with the flu, colds, coughs, back and muscle pain, poor circulation, anxiety, red itchy skin conditions (though cups are not applied to inflamed areas), allergies, fevers, aches and numerous other pains.
Precautions & Contraindications:
It should be noted that cupping is not to be used on patients who bleed easily and/or cannot stop bleeding, have skin ulcers, or edema. It is unwise to cup over large blood vessels as well. Pregnant women should be cupped with extreme caution and never on their abdomen or lower back.
Cupping Therapy
Did you watch the Olympics and notice those strange round bruise marks on some of the athletes? Those marks are actually from an ancient form of alternative medicine called Cupping Therapy. Cupping Therapy has been around since at least 1,550 B.C. and is beneficial for many medical conditions and pain management. It was used by ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Middle Eastern Cultures, but is now used around the world. There are many types of cups that the therapist can use such as glass, bamboo, silicone and earthenware, all have the same benefits.
Cupping Therapy Can Help:
We offer Cupping Therapy in both of our locations. The cups that our therapists use are premium plastic and they create the suction with a special tool that connects to each cup, which allows them to control how much suction is applied to an area. The cups can then stay in place for several minutes or the therapist can gently glide the cup around mimicking massage motions. Cupping delivers a reverse type of massage since it pulls the muscle and skin up instead of down as in a massage. Cupping may be a beneficial therapy to your health and wellness regimen if you feel like you are at a stand still with your pain management, it doesn’t hurt to try something new. We are always looking to add different modalities to better help with the aches and pains life throws at us and cupping was the perfect thing to add onto our menu.
*the marks left from Cupping can stay on the skin for a couple of weeks, but they are not painful like a bruise would be even though they can look just like a bruise. Look at Cupping under the Service Menu on the website for more information and contraindications*
