Cupping

Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. People get it for many purposes, including to help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage.

The cups may be made of:

• Glass
• Bamboo
• Earthenware
• Silicone

Cupping therapy might be trendy now, but it’s not new. It dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cultures. One of the oldest medical textbooks in the world, the Ebers Papyrus, describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1,550 B.C.

Types

• Dry

• Wet

During both types of cupping, your therapist will put a flammable substance such as alcohol, herbs, or paper in a cup and set it on fire. As the fire goes out, he puts the cup upside down on your skin.

As the air inside the cup cools, it creates a vacuum. This causes your skin to rise and redden as your blood vessels expand. The cup is generally left in place for up to 3 minutes.

A more modern version of cupping uses a rubber pump instead of fire to create the vacuum inside the cup. Sometimes therapists use silicone cups, which they can move from place to place on your skin for a massage-like effect.

Wet cupping creates a mild suction by leaving a cup in place for about 3 minutes. The therapist then removes the cup and uses a small scalpel to make light, tiny cuts on your skin. Next, he or she does a second suction to draw out a small quantity of blood.

You might get 3-5 cups in your first session. Or you might just try one to see how it goes. It’s rare to get more than 5-7 cups, the British Cupping Society notes.

Afterward, you may get an antibiotic ointment and bandage to prevent infection. Your skin should look normal again within 10 days.

Cupping therapy supporters believe that wet cupping removes harmful substances and toxins from the body to promote healing. But that’s not proven.

Some people also get “needle cupping,” in which the therapist first inserts acupuncture needles and then puts cups over them.

拔罐疗法
又被人们称为是拔火罐，是一种富有中国传统文化的中医治疗手段。专家表示，拔罐疗法就是以各种罐子为工具，利用燃烧或者挤压的方式造成罐内负压，从而产生广泛刺激，形成局部充血或淤血的现象，已达到防病治病的目的。

1) 平衡阴阳。阳盛则热，阴盛则寒。发热是阳气盛实的表现，而寒战恶寒是阴气盛实的症状，在大椎进行拔罐能够治疗发热的疾病，而在关元进行则能治疗寒性的疾病。

2) 调和臟腑。拔罐疗法通过结经络、穴位局部产生负压吸引作用使体表穴位产生充血、瘀血等变化，穴位通过以通过经络与内在的臟腑相连，从而治疗各种臟腑疾病。

3) 疏通经络。拔罐疗法通过其温热机械刺激及负压吸引作用，刺激体表的穴位及经筋皮部，而穴位及经筋皮部是与经络密切相连的。所以，拔罐能够疏通经络，使营卫调和，祛除经络中的各种致病的邪气，气血畅通，筋脉关节得以濡养、通得，从而治疗各种疾病。

4) 协助诊断。通过观察所有拔罐后体表的变化可以推断疾病的性质、部位及与内臟的关系。

5) 祛除病邪。拔罐疗法因为以负压吸拔体表的穴位，不公能够开腠理、散风寒，而且还能调整臟腑经络的作用，鼓舞人体的正气，也有助于体内致邪气的排出。

6) 双向调节。在临床取穴和拔罐方法都不变的情况下，拔罐疗法具有双向的良性调节作用。