Beyond its Traditional Chinese Medicine-based acupuncture practice, East Winds Acupuncture also offers therapeutic cupping treatments. Cupping therapy has been practiced as an alternative medicine technique for over 3,000 years, originating from Eastern medicinal roots (Cui et al., 2022). This treatment has slowly gained more widespread popularity in recent years, especially after cupping marks were seen on athletes during the 2016 Summer Olympics (Jones et al., 2018).
There are three primary forms of cupping techniques – dry cupping, wet cupping, and fire cupping. Cupping exercises its therapeutic effects via suction force creation over targeted body areas, typically using cupping devices in various shapes and sizes to best access intended muscle groups. The suction physically draws additional arterial blood flow containing fresh oxygenation into local tissue while also lifting restrictive adhesions (Han et al., 2020).
After cupping treatment, some minor skin discolorations like circular bruising may be present due to minor capillary damage just under the surface tissue. However, these markings are not painful and resolve within a few days (Cao et al., 2020). East Winds Acupuncture focuses exclusively on dry cupping methods for patient safety and comfort.
Those interested to learn more about adding relaxing, massage-like cupping therapy to their East Winds Acupuncture treatment plans can inquire during an initial consultation.
“If there is free flow, there is no pain; if there is pain, there is lack of free flow.”
Huang Di Nei Jing