Cupping therapy is the hottest form of therapy happening at the Olympics. Many athletes, including Michael Phelps have these circle markings on their backs, which has many people wondering where they came from and what’s the purpose exactly?
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Cupping therapy is a form of ancient Chinese medicine that is used to treat backaches and other types of pain. This form of therapy is nothing new and most people can get it done by a masseuse or acupuncturist. A person suffering from back pain or sore muscles can get this done by laying face down, a professional soaks a cotton ball in alcohol and then lights it on fire inside a glass cup. They quickly remove the flame and place the heated cup on the person’s back creating a vacuum that draws up the skin tissue.
When the skin seals the hot air in the vessel, the air inside begins to cool causing the skin to stretch and contract, which increases blood flow. The increased blood flow that the suction creates is a natural way of healing, since the cupping process draws blood form your vessels and into your tissue. Kind of like if you were in need of a jumpstart, your body’s antibodies jump into that area to try to heal it.
When you think about the amount of work that goes into becoming an Olympian, there’s no doubt why this form of therapy is so popular. Hours and hours in the pool, kicking your muscles into turbo mode can cause extreme soreness, even on professionals like these athletes.
Many people swear by this therapy, plus when you think about the number of people that use heating pads to relieve pain, this is just a step up from that. There aren’t that many studies that prove it’s effectiveness and some doctors feel that cupping can have a placebo effect, convincing people that after they have this done, their muscles and pain wear off. Fortunately, there are little to no risks when getting this type of treatment. Other than the brown circles that appear, there’s no other side-effect. We say, if you think it helps, continue to do it, especially when it comes to back pain which could be extremely painful and debilitating.