Recently in my practice, two entirely unrelated patients had the same response when I suggested we try cupping to help mobilize deeper areas of muscle dysfunction.
"Cupping? I don't believe in cupping," both of them had said dismissively. Don't believe in it? What's to believe? Having never considered the possibility of it being something that necessitated a belief, I was puzzled. They might as well have said that they didn't "believe in" pizza. The first time I heard this, I listened passively as this occasional patient, spouted some rhetoric about the "woo woo" idea of how cupping was supposed to draw out toxins -as with the broken skin of a snake bite! He sounded almost angry I observed. Ok. Clearly he was missing a huge piece of the information here, but whatever... It is my job to hold space that is safe and nourishing to my patients. Arguing does not facilitate their healing process. A few weeks later, I heard it again, those exact words. This time from a long time friend, now seeing me for post surgical, injury recovery. Someone whom I felt could really benefit from strategic cupping as part of the session. Time to dig deeper. What kind of misinformation were these folks subjected to about cupping? And why this strong, emotional reaction? Eventually, after the session had ended, I was chatting with my friend and it became clear that he (and perhaps the other person as well) had simply not had enough information to understand it. Like just hearing a sound bite about something and not the intricacies of a larger process. Maybe we all have reservations when we first hear about it. Before I ever considered adding cupping to my practice, I myself was dubious about its publicized benefits of "drawing out toxins." I decided to take an introductory class as part of my continuing education for that year, and I learned enough to ease my mind, and get a better understanding. Enough that I chose to pursue the education further to actually make it part of my practice. But when I suggest it, I find most folks still just "know" the sound bite info, so let me break it down a bit differently for you here. Prolonged pain can create deep trigger points and areas of reduced function in the tissues of the body. Most people have experienced this at some point. In many cases, these deeper trigger points can not be released by the occasional massage. Especially when built up over time because of the body compensating for an injury and habitually poor posture. Cupping is one option to help facilitate the desired result faster. Cupping has been around for thousands of years and traces its roots to ancient Chinese and Egyptian medicine. Cupping was documented in one of the oldest medical textbooks in the world, Ebers Papyrus, which was written in 1550 BC. Cupping helps to mobilize and release adhesions, trigger points, and "knots" in the deeper muscle fibers. Much like when a Massage Therapists lifts and squeezes the tissue with her hands. The release of toxins accumulated in these tissues happens as well. NO they do not come rushing out the site of the cups, through the skin exactly! Although that may occur on a minute scale. The build up of micro toxins and trigger points is very common when living with chronic or prolonged pain. When to underlying pain is relieved, or the stuck tissue is mobilized, these toxins break free into the Circulatory and Lymphatic systems of the body Drinking plenty of water to flush out any toxins that are released is an important part of any therapeutic body work, and this treatment even more so. Cupping usually feels great and can be very effective. But it often leaves visible suction bruises and you may feel tired for several hours to several days afterwards. In extreme cases, a person might experience lowered immunity as the body processes are focused elsewhere.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorTamia has been an actively licensed massage therapist since 2007. She has worked in Oregon and Washington states, as both a therapist and an experienced educator in a variety of massage sciences, modalities, and fundamentals. Archives
January 2023
Categories |