What Is Cupping, and What Can It Do for You?

At a recent press conference, Phelps said he gets it done before most meets, and Olympic gymnast Alexander Naddour claims it's a 'secret' that keeps him...

August 26, 2016 

Story at-a-glance

• Cupping is an ancient medical treatment; its Chinese roots date back to 300 or 400 A.D. Egyptian and Middle Eastern cultures also have ancient records of the practice
• In cupping, suction cups of varying sizes are attached to the body. The suction draws stagnant blood to the surface of the skin and improves blood circulation through the tissues, which can speed healing
• Research has found cupping may benefit conditions such as chronic neck and shoulder pain, arthritis of the knee, herpes zoster, facial paralysis and cervical spondylosis

By Dr. Mercola

Olympic swimming fans everywhere are talking about cupping these days: a discussion brought on by Michael Phelps' and Cody Miller's purple-dotted shoulders.1Olympic gymnast Alex Naddour has also been seen sporting the hickey-like marks, and many other world-class athletes admit to using cupping.

According to Reuters,2 sales of cupping therapy equipment rose by 20 percent in the three days following Phelps' big win.

The International Cupping Therapy Association also reported a "50 percent increase of healthcare practitioners seeking out their cupping certificates" during that same timeframe. Acupuncture physicians have also reported an increase in inquiries about the treatment.3

What Is Cupping?

Cupping is an ancient medical treatment; its Chinese roots date back to 300 or 400 A.D. Egyptian and Middle Eastern cultures also have ancient records of the practice.

Cupping is still regularly used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Chinese hospitals and elsewhere. Suction cups of varying sizes are attached to the body, and the suction draws blood to the surface of the skin. Hence, the bruise-like marks.

The treatment is said to improve blood circulation, thereby speeding up healing, reducing pain and easing muscle soreness. According to Dr. Houman Danesh, a pain management specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, cupping helps "jumpstart the body's natural healing process."

Phelps and Naddour both swear by the treatment. At a recent press conference, Phelps said he gets cupping done before most meets,4 and Naddour told USA Today5 that cupping has been a "secret … that keeps me healthy. It's been better than any money I've spent on anything else."

Does Cupping Work for Pain?

While some media outlets have derided the athletes for promoting quackery, studies tend to support its use. For example, a 2014 review6 of 16 studies done on cupping suggests it can indeed be beneficial for pain. According to the authors:

"Cupping combined with acupuncture was superior to acupuncture alone on post-treatment pain intensity … Results from other single studies showed significant benefit of cupping compared with conventional drugs or usual care …

This review suggests a potential positive short-term effect of cupping therapy on reducing pain intensity compared with no treatment, heat therapy, usual care or conventional drugs."

Cupping May Offer Relief for Many Painful Conditions

A study7 published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine earlier this year found cupping significantly reduced chronic neck and shoulder pain, compared to no intervention.

In the cupping group, the intensity of the neck pain was reduced from a severity score of 9.7 to 3.6. Among controls, pain was reduced from 9.7 to 9.5. The study also evaluated measurable physical effects, including changes in skin surface temperature and blood pressure.

Both measurements showed statistically significant improvements among those who received cupping. An earlier study8 comparing cupping to progressive muscle relaxation found both treatments provided similar pain relief for patients with chronic neck pain after 12 weeks.

However, those who received cupping did report significantly greater "wellbeing" and higher pressure pain thresholds compared to those who practiced progressive muscle relaxation. Research9 published in 2012 also reported beneficial results on patients with arthritic knee pain.

A meta-analysis10 of 550 studies published in PLOS One that same year found cupping "is of potential benefit for pain conditions, herpes zoster, cough and dyspnea." According to the authors:

"Meta-analysis showed cupping therapy combined with other TCM treatments was significantly superior to other treatments alone in increasing the number of cured patients with herpes zoster, facial paralysis, acne and cervical spondylosis. No serious adverse effects were reported in the trials."

Cupping Therapy 101

Myofascial decompression therapy is the name given to the cupping treatment among athletic trainers. In the video above, you can see Phelps getting the cups placed along his back using a hand-held air pump that extracts the air from the cup once it's placed on the skin.

TCM practitioners will typically use glass cups. Oil is first applied to the skin to prevent excessive friction and pain as the flesh is sucked into the cup. When using glass cups, the vacuum is created by lighting a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol and holding it inside the cup.

The fire burns out the oxygen inside the cup, so when the flame is removed and the cup placed on the skin, the resulting vacuum creates suction. If the suction is too strong, you can ease it by gently pressing a finger near the rim of the cup, letting in a little bit of air.

The cups can be left in place or slowly moved around, the latter of which is referred to as cupping massage; the effect being similar to that of a deep tissue massage. Cups are typically left on for three to five minutes. The resulting welts will typically vanish in a couple of days, much like a regular bruise.

Cupping May Influence Your Innate Immune Response

Leonid Kalichman, Ph.D., a senior lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, has written more than 150 papers on physiotherapy and rheumatology. He believes that by causing localized inflammation, cupping helps trigger cytokine production that modulate your immune system response.¹¹

In a recent review paper on cupping research, published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Kalichman and his co-author Efgeni Rozenfeld note that:¹²

"Mechanically, cupping increases blood circulation, whereas physiologically it activates the immune system and stimulates the mechanosensitive fibers, thus leading to a reduction in pain.

There is initial scientific evidence that dry cupping is able to reduce musculoskeletal pain. Since cupping is an inexpensive, noninvasive and low-risk (if performed by a trained practitioner) therapeutic modality, we believe that it should be included in the arsenal of musculoskeletal medicine."

Anecdotal Reports

While more research may help explain the exact mechanisms behind cupping's healing power, many patients are satisfied knowing it works for them — regardless of the how or why. As noted by Jessica MacLean, acting director of the International Cupping Therapy Association:¹³

"When people get the treatment and they recover really fast, they don't care about the scientific evidence — they just care that it works."

The following anecdotal success story was reported by Desert News Utah:¹⁴

"It works for 33-year-old Maria, who was at Master Lu's … for acupuncture and cupping therapy for several herniated discs in her lower back. She said she's tried many options, but the pain gets so bad at times, she can't move. 'As soon as I had it done, it was immediate relief,' she said. 'I never went back to anything else.'

Maria … injured her back lifting and moving a lot of boxes. She said that in addition to immediate and long-lasting pain relief, the acupuncture and cupping procedure is 'relaxing' to go through. She will have about three appointments within the week and then not need to return ntil pain flares up again from overuse, Lu said."

Are You Ready to Try Cupping?

Cupping is easy to do and vacuum sets can be purchased online for as little as $30. However, I would strongly recommend going to a trained TCM practitioner. Licensed doctors of TCM have a minimum of 3,000 hours of training and know how to perform cupping safely and effectively.

Care to avoid excessive suction must be taken when treating certain areas of the body. While your back and thighs can safely handle heavy suction, it could be risky to cup certain areas of your neck, for example, unless you know what you're doing.

Cupping is also not done on your head or face, so if you have a headache, you would typically treat your neck, shoulder and/or back muscles; the cups would NOT be placed on the temples or forehead. Cupping is also contraindicated for certain serious health conditions.

So, could cupping work for you? You'll simply have to try it before writing it off. Studies and anecdotal evidence suggest cupping can be a helpful adjunct to other therapies for pain. In some cases it may even work as a stand-alone treatment, although this is not the norm. The good news is, if it works, you'll notice a difference. And if it doesn't, no harm will come to you.

The procedure itself is typically painless (provided excessive suction is not used), and the bruises — which indicate that stagnant blood has been drawn from the tissue to the surface — will typically disappear within days. If blood stagnation is not an issue, you will not experience any bruising at all.

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2016/08/26/cupping-therapy.aspx

How to Improve Circulation

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Blood is an extraordinarily versatile vehicle for the body’s vital functions. It nourishes all of the cells with oxygen and nutrients while carrying away carbon dioxide and other wastes. Its cells help detect pathogens and fight infection. In the event of tissue damage, the blood helps set repair mechanisms in motion.

Because the blood is in charge of so many tasks, anything that interferes with its ability to flow freely through the circulatory system can upset the body’s delicate balance.
Unfortunately, such problems are very prevalent.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure, which increases the risk of death from heart attack and stroke. Furthermore, one-sixth of adults have abnormally high levels of cholesterol, which doubles the risk of heart disease and causes the blood vessels to become narrow.

There are several natural approaches that people may take in order to improve circulation. These may include an increase in physical activity and adjustments to one’s diet. While there are several vitamins and minerals that can promote good blood flow, scientists are continuing to study a wide array of natural compounds in order to diversify the supplements that are available to health-conscious consumers.

Tackle Cholesterol and Clotting Factors With Soy

For decades, there has been a growing interest in the health benefits of soy. Given this, it’s no surprise that there is also a good deal of attention surrounding natto, which is a fermented form of this food.

Nattokinase, an extract from soybeans fermented with the bacterium Bacillus subtilis natto, is made up of plasmin, isoflavones, carbohydrates, fat, minerals and vitamin K, according to a study published in Lipid Therapy. Past studies conducted in rodents indicated that nattokinase may have a positive effect on lipid metabolism.

In order to investigate whether the same was true in humans, a team of scientists conducted a study in which 30 individuals, all of whom were diagnosed with high cholesterol, consumed a low cholesterol diet. Meanwhile, they received either nattokinase supplements or placebo twice a day for eight weeks.

Results showed that by the end of the study period, total serum cholesterol levels were lower among subjects who took the nattokinase supplements, compared to those who received placebos.

Another study, published in Nutrition Research, detailed an open-label experiment in which 45 subjects consumed nattokinase capsules every day for two months, while the scientists measured levels of several factors related to clotting in the trial participants’ blood.

Ultimately, the researchers found that nattokinase decreased levels of fibrinogen and other clotting factors, suggesting that the soy extract could help maintain optimum cardiovascular health.

Sowing the Seeds of Good Circulation

Health-conscious consumers may be aware of the potentially beneficial compounds contained within grapes, particularly resveratrol, which has been linked to heart health. However, powerful substances can also be found within the grape seed itself.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), grape seed extract contains vitamin E, flavonoids, linoleic acid and other healthy compounds.

One study published in Clinical Science noted that the polyphenols of grapes, which have been linked to improvements in blood pressure, are often found in the skin and pulp of the fruit. However, more than 70 percent of the polyphenols are actually concentrated within the grape seeds.

Scientists from the University of California, Davis, conducted an experiment with grape seed extract in order to understand the effects that it had on blood pressure. Using rabbits, the researchers demonstrated that grape seed extract set off a specific chain reaction within the cells of the blood vessels that caused them to relax, therefore improving the blood pressure.

There is also early research to suggest that grape seed extract can reduce one’s levels of LDL, or bad, cholesterol, according to the UMMC.

A Brew for Healthy Blood Flow

Tea is the most highly consumed beverage in the world, second only to water. One reason for tea’s enduring popularity during the past two millenia is its potential health effects.

The three main types of beverage that can be brewed from the plant Camellia sinensis are green tea, oolong tea and black tea. The manufacturing process, including drying and fermentation, is what determines the kind of drink produced as the end result, as well as the nutrient content.

Most of tea’s health benefits are tied to the presence of antioxidants. These compounds help neutralize free radicals, which are pollutants that cause damage to the integrity of cells and DNA, potentially leading to cancer and other diseases. Free radicals may come from environmental pollution, ultraviolet radiation, smoking or unhealthy food. Furthermore, the body produces its own free radicals as a byproduct of ordinary metabolism.

The most prominent antioxidants in green tea are catechins, which include epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). In the roughly three decades that scientists have been studying healthy compounds in green tea, EGCG has been the centerpiece of research projects on Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, cancer and microbial infections, according to a review published in Life Sciences.

When it comes to cardiovascular disease, several studies suggest that the antioxidants in green tea may have positive effects on the tissues that make up the body’s blood vessels, therefore improving blood pressure, scientists from Spain wrote in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

Furthermore, green tea has been tied to optimal levels of cholesterol. In order to find out how the beverage exerts this effect, one team of researchers from Australia and the U.K. conducted an experiment using rabbit models of high cholesterol. This study showed that the antioxidants of green tea did not affect the intestine’s ability to absorb cholesterol, but they may have had an impact on the liver’s ability to make the substance, as published in Atherosclerosis.

One potential obstacle to consuming adequate levels of antioxidants from green tea is the beverage’s caffeine content, which may have negative side effects. However, the manufacturing of certain supplements that contain green tea extracts may help minimize this risk.

Amazing Alpha Lipoic Acid

In the interest of understanding the wide range of antioxidants that can benefit the cardiovascular system, a great deal of research has focused on alpha lipoic acid (ALA).

This compound occurs naturally in organ meats, such as hearts, livers and kidneys, according to a review published in the Journal of Nutrition. Smaller amounts of ALA can be found in vegetarian sources like spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, garden peas, Brussels sprouts and rice.

One reason why scientists are so excited about ALA is that this antioxidant helps the body recycle and use other antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, more efficiently. Ultimately, this process can protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation. Therefore, ALA potentially prevents the buildup of harmful deposits on the walls of the arteries, keeping the blood vessels clear for optimal circulation.

Other studies suggest that ALA could help the body produce certain substances that help keep the blood vessels relaxed. Therefore, this antioxidant may improve blood pressure, as published in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta.

Don’t Forget Healthy Lifestyles

When it comes to cholesterol, patients should curb their consumption of foods that contain high amounts of saturated fat, which can elevate levels of LDL. These include dairy products, chocolate, baked goods, products that have been deep-fried and certain meats. Foods that contain trans fats also have the same effect on LDL.

Conversely, you can improve your blood pressure by eating a diet that is low in both sodium and alcohol. It also helps for people to learn positive approaches to managing stress, which is a variable that increases the risk of hypertension.

Physical activity can support efforts to optimize both cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity, aerobic exercise every week. For best results, these activities should be spread throughout the week in increments of at least 10 minutes.

Exercise is especially important for adults aged 65 and older because regular physical activity can help keep them mobile and independent. If possible, senior citizens should follow the same guidelines for physical activity that apply to younger adults. A healthcare provider can help you figure out what is safe and effective.

Source: New Supplements For Circulation