A few articles recently have made note of the purplish circular marks apparent on swimmers competing in the Tokyo Olympic. These are the tell-tale signs of a recent cupping treatment. Interest in cupping seems to increase with each Olympics, you might remember that Michael Phelps also had these marks back in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
So what exactly is cupping?
A heat source is applied to rounded glass cups creating a vacuum effect which causes suction when applied to the skin. This suction helps to lift the muscles, facia and interstitium and increase blood flow to the area.
Cupping is mainly used to loosen and relieve tight muscles, improve local blood circulation and release stagnation or ‘toxins’ stuck within the muscles.
We may leave the cups in one area, or apply massage oil so that we can slide the cups over the affected muscles.
Cupping has minimal side-effects other than the circular red-purplish marks they leave. These marks are not painful and will fade significantly within the first 3 days, and usually lasting 5-7 days in total.
There may be some general tenderness of the muscles following treatment if they are particularly tight and knotted, like what you could expect after a remedial massage.
Unlike the Olympic swimmers we strongly suggest that you avoid cold water after your cupping treatment – at least for 24 hours. Following cupping the body’s pores are open and more susceptible to invasion by cold. Cold in the body impairs the movement of Qi & Blood leading to stagnation and pain.
