What is Cupping Massage?

The circle shaped marks are a sure giveaway when someone has had a recent cupping session. You might have seen them on someone in the grocery line, on your favorite athletes or celebrities, on social media, or a friend at the gym.

These marks are from cupping and even if you’ve never tried it before, chances are you know someone who has. 

Moving / Vacuum Cupping

Vacuum cupping uses well placed cups to create a vacuum on your skin and is performed without fire or heat. Your therapist will use plastic cups with a hand pump that will be used to control the intensity of the suction. A gentle suction of the cup is applied so that the cup glides over the body. 

Cupping creates a suction on your skin. Blood vessels, (usually tiny capillaries) along the cup will expand and break open, leading to the classic discolored marks associated with cupping. As part of the healing process, your body will send oxygen-rich blood to repair the broken blood vessels, treating the cupped area as an injury. So for example, if you have sore muscles, cupping along the sore spots would help repair them more quickly. 

During a cupping session, your therapist will determine where to place cups (depending on how you’re feeling and what results you want) and place cups along different parts of your body. Most commonly, they will be placed on your back and shoulders for three to five minutes. 

Moving cupping is a variation of cupping therapy that involves using cups to create a vacuum on the skin, followed by moving the cups along specific areas of the body. The suction created by the cups helps to promote blood circulation, release muscle tension, and stimulate the body’s natural healing process. Primarily, the focus for moving cupping would be on the back, however, our full body moving cupping will include coverage of your arms and legs too. Moving cupping is used as a precursor to fixed cupping to help stimulate blood flow around the body and to activate the lymph system.

Cupping and Massage

The use of cupping in massage can be especially effective. When you think about it, cupping is essentially the opposite of a massage. Instead of pushing down on the skin, it pulls up. However, like massage, cupping can reach down beyond the skin and into your muscles, loosening them and promoting faster healing. So when used together, they make an incredibly powerful duo. 

If you do decide to combine cupping with a massage, your massage therapist will begin with the cupping portion of your treatment. The cups will loosen your muscles and fascia, allowing the massage to penetrate deeper into your muscles. And the increased blood flow from the double treatment will help muscles repair and recover more quickly. 

Why Get Cupping?

Over centuries, cupping has been used for many purposes, including:

• Help with pain relief / works as a type of deep-tissue massage

Cupping involves placing small cups on troubled areas of the body and creating suction to pull the tissue up slightly. This may help relax muscles and tissues, relieve pain, and trigger the body's natural healing processes.

• Correct blood flow issues

Cupping increases blood circulation to the area where the cups are placed. This may relieve muscle tension, which can improve overall blood flow and promote cell repair. It may also help form new connective tissues and create new blood vessels in the tissue. The suction from the cups increases circulation to the area where the cups are placed. The additional blood flow to that area can help relieve muscle tension and promote cell repair. Increasing circulation with cupping also helps to reduce the appearance of cellulite.

• Aid in relaxation and well-being/reduce anxiety

When your therapist glides the cups across your skin, your parasympathetic nervous system engages. This promotes deep relaxation to move through your entire body. (Your parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for slowing your heart rate, assisting in digestion, and increasing intestinal and gland activity.)

• Encourages tissues to release toxins

Studies also show that cupping therapy is an effective way of removing toxins trapped at a cellular level. The increased blood flow can stimulate your lymphatic system, which is responsible for removing waste from your body. Drinking plenty of water after a cupping session can speed up the process, flushing out toxins more quickly and effectively. Yes, you do have organs that remove toxins from your blood. But the modern lifestyle overloads your body with toxins. Cupping gives your body a boost in releasing those toxins. Focused blood flow helps your body by flushing built-up toxins through the lymphatic system. (Your lymphatic system is responsible for eliminating your body’s toxins and waste.)

• Reduces stretch marks and scars

Increased blood flow enables your body to dispose of toxins, restores lymphatic circulation, and helps remove edema (excess fluid), which helps reduce the appearance of scars. Studies have shown the positive effects of cupping on stretch marks and scars even in areas that are far from the area where the cups are applied.

• Improve varicose veins and spider veins

Varicose veins look like bulging, bluish veins just under your skin, usually on legs and feet. They happen when the valves inside the vein aren’t working properly—the valves don’t effectively push the blood from the muscle back to the heart, so the blood congests and the veins twist and bulge. Cupping helps by bringing fresh blood flow and oxygen back to the problem areas. You’ll notice your varicose veins appear lighter after your first session, though it will take a series of cupping sessions for lasting results. (Note: only dry, not wet, cupping is recommended for treating varicose veins.)

• Helps clear congestions and treat asthma

Congestion (the buildup of fluid or phlegm in your lungs) caused by a cold, bronchitis, or even asthma can be treated with cupping. The suction from cups breaks up and expels congestion. It brings oxygen rich blood and lymph toward your lungs and your other respiratory muscles. Cups are usually placed on your back, but may be placed on your chest as well. Your therapist may leave the cups in place, or may gently glide them in an upward motion to facilitate the movement of the lymph fluid.

The Side Effects of Cupping

Because it’s not an invasive procedure, there are very few adverse side effects associated with cupping. The most common side effect, as we discussed earlier, is the temporary appearance of cupping marks. These will generally disappear in just a few days. 

Does Cupping Hurt?

If you’ve never had a cupping session, you might be slightly put off by the marks it leaves behind. Surely, anything that leaves those kinds of bruises has to be painful, right? Wrong! Cupping doesn’t have to be painful at all! You might feel a slight discomfort or pinching sensation while the cups are suctioned on, but will pass as soon as the cups are removed. 

Is Cupping Massage Right for You?

Ask your therapist during your next massage session. The benefits of cupping increase over time so consider a monthly membership or prepaid package for added savings and convenience while you enjoy the health benefits of regular massage, cupping.