Vacuum Cupping Therapy
ledbury
Dry Cupping is a therapy technique that we use in the injury clinic alongside other modalities / therapies , here at edge fitness and therapies.
In its simplest description, cupping draws blood from the intramuscular tissues up to the skin layers which enables and promotes healing.
Cups come in lots of varied sizes and shapes to contour around our bony landmarks like our spine, shoulder blades and knee joints. It is used to help stretch fascia (the connective tissue that is throughout our bodies and surrounds our muscles).
Being active, training, playing sports, even our everyday jobs as well as ageing, we have an increase of muscle breakdown along with an increase of adhesions, scar tissue in the fascia and muscle tissue. So cupping therapy can be used to keep these structures mobile and healthy.
WHAT HAPPENS ONCE THE CUP IS PLACED?
Once the cup is placed with suction (using a suction gun), the vacuum produced from cupping causes a localised expansion of tissue. This facilitates a profound vasodilation / flooding reaction to increase circulation / blood flow to the painful constricted area.
As the area is flooded with blood, stagnated or old blood is drawn to the surface within the skin layers. This old blood is dark coloured and is what gives you the ‘bruise like’ marks that you see in photos of cupping. It can pinch initially when the cup is applied as it stretches the tissue. This can be managed by adjusting the suction. After this settles down, the treatment should be painless.
With regular cupping and massage the amount of stagnated / stasis blood will reduce as the body is healthier and can recover faster due improved healthier tissue.
How many cups we use depends on the area we are treating, age of the client, techniques we use and what our goal for treatment is. We can use just one or two for a less intense approach or cover the area with cups.
HOW DO WE GET STAGNATED BLOOD?
We develop pockets of old blood in the tissue when we are injured and don’t recover properly. If the area doesn’t move well because the muscle and fascial fibres are restricted and congested, then the flow of fresh blood is slower which can hinder the healing process as well as the muscles performance along with being a location for trigger points.
The stagnation marks can last from a few hours to up to two weeks. The marks that last the longest are due to a greater amount of waste product being dissipated. The more frequent treatment is, the quicker the marks fade. Stagnation marks should not hurt, on the very rare occasion they do, please feedback to your therapist.
HERE'S THE SCIENCE...
For the body to change, it must have a need to change. Dry cupping creates a sterile inflammation reaction which involves creating microtrauma (just like exercise and manual massage). This microtrauma initiates the first stage of the healing process from the body by releasing white blood cells, platelets and fibroblasts to heal the area. This microtrauma also stimulates the production of new blood vessels called neovascularisation making the healing even more efficient.
By suctioning the old blood up to the surface to be disposed of by the body, it can also encourage the breakdown of metabolic waste.
If you want to know if cupping therapy could work for you.
Give us a call or book now now.