Cupping Marks

[Pompal 09.]

Hi all

I'm just getting into cupping as a modality to add to my practice. I've learnt stationary fire cupping & I'm about to learn moving/gliding cupping with a plastic vacuum set. For those of you who do cupping or specialise in it I'd appreciate any advice on how you educate or inform your client about the possible marks left on the skin by cupping. Many people think that it's bruising & that it is harmful thus giving it a negative connotation. I'm about to do up a little pamphlet to give my clients explaining the benefits, uses & what to expect from cupping etc.

Cheers

OZ

 

[PUB25]

What I have seen of post cupping is most definately bruising. I would be curious about the reply myself. Inflamation/soreness post massage is common in deeper techniques and one has to learn what the trade offs are. Adding inflamation to an already clinically inflamed tussue is a bad idea. I imagine in cupping there is a trade off of damaging superficial vascular supply. How much is acceptable, what is the end goal and under what conditions are the questions I would be seeking answers to.
Not being trained in cupping I assume the heat is a factor enhancing blood migration. Changing the plasticity of connective tissue to a more maliable state. The suction would reduce cross linking in collogen between fascial layers. Dragging, drawing and stretching the tissue over a thin edge of a heated glass molding the tissue into longer sheets. The "detox" would be minimal IMHO being superfiscial but metabolic enhancement might be useful in the denser conjested tissues.
So, it's well applied moist heat and fascial layer seperation when gliding. The suction of the tissue into the glass pulls at the deeper periostium....where loads of propriocepters are encougaging lots of metabolizling for wound healing (good bruising). By reducing the piezo electric pulls in the tissue less fibroblast proliferation and more fibroclast obsorbtion takes place cleaning up some fascial binding in the immediate area. Am I far off?

 

[narsha84]

Not trained in but have recieved it several times. What I have noticed with the bruising (more so hickey like marks) is that in the areas where I had the most tension is where it was the worst. In areas that were normal for me in muscle tone, no tightness, there were none to minimal markings left behind.
As far as detoxing after each session I have had a few hours later I have gotten sick to the point of vomiting.That happens to me as well when I have an NMT session.
And Peter I can't believe Theresa nor Dana never did cupping on you. Those two are the reason I got hooked on it. I love it. Virtually painless way to ease up some serious tension.

 

[Tyler M]

Heh...ya, watched it for years but never recieved. After some reading I see there are some explainations stating the bruising kick starts healing metabolic processes. Just like aggresive X-fiber jump starts healing in Tendonosis. There are times when challanging the system actually primes it back into action. Funny thing as I type and think I realize cupping has a ton of simple proven physiological processes going on at the same time. And best of all you aren't taxing your hands to do it. Pretty cool.

It makes good sense that your stuck areas would bruise more. The lifting vertically of the tissue pulls directly on septums and periostiums.... if that is fascially stuck together it will show more effect in that area. Just like stressing a tight muscle will damage it more than a relaxed muscle.

Part of what we are learning these days is septum massage. Which in a lot of areas is just that.... lifting the septum to treat the deeper layers. Understand the entire skeletal structure has a fascial periostium bag that muscles and tissues are anchored too. I believe I taught you "muscles don't attach to bones, they become bone... more accurate they blend into the periostium and that attaches to the bone. As well there a ton of nerve receptors in that periostium. The same layers Cranial Sacral most likely effects IMHO. Work that tissue and it reaps great benefits. Problem is pressing hard and deep through those tissues is too painful....but sucking them up is smarter. Crafty Eastern body workers you.

 

[Pompal 09.]

How I've explained it to my clients is to tell them that it's not bruising but suction marks.....just like hickies. Everyone gets a chuckle out of it and since everyone knows what a hicky is, it makes it seem better to them than to think of it as bruising.

I always educate my clients about the marks before doing any cupping on them and get their permission to procede. I wouldn't want anyone to have an unexpected "surprise"

Angie

 

[hurricane]

Peter, I love what you bring to the boards. Very happy to have you here.

Cupping does not involve heat. The "Fire" involved in "fire cupping" is used to create a vacuum in a glass chamber. A glass chamber is held in the practitioner's hand. A flaming piece of cotton or some such is quickly placed inside the chamber and then VERY QUICKLY (like in 2 seconds) the flame is removed and then the empty, vacuumed chamber is placed on the skin. The fire simply consumes all the oxygen in the glass cup and if you put it on the skin fast enough it creates a suction, pulling skin, fascia and muscle up.

There are also vacuum cups and rubber cups that are used to create a similar suction without fire. I use the rubber ones and I have also noticed that more bruising occurs on areas that are congested. For instance, I worked the right posterior scapula/trapezius/rhomboids area thoroughly (cause that's where his problem was) then noticed that after getting so much mobility the left side, the left side looked tight in comparison. I got out my rubber cups (used too much thumb already, foolish me!) and worked rhomboids/trapizus on the left. Got major redness/bruising marks. Went on to "even out" the right side with the cups and got no color whatsoever, I suppose that's because it was already worked thoroughly.

Sorry for the long explanation, but I just experienced this today and it seemed so relevant.

 

[Jade]

Explanation of Cupping Discolorations

The marks are not bruising. Bruising is caused by impact trauma - that is not what Cupping does. It is extremely important for people to learn what it is before describing it incorrectly. Such misunderstandings do this incredibly effective therapy a huge discredit.

Suction draws to the surface pathogenic factors from within the body, and depending on the depth of suction and the length of time the cup remains in place (or repeatedly moved over) areas of congestion the more possibility of dredging up dead blood, lymph, toxins and disease (and other lingering unhealthy conditions).

The amount, color, shape and speed it emerges correlates with the nature, severity and type of disorder of the patient - proper training can help you identify this. It fades from a few hours to a few weeks, depending on the amount of seforum.xxxnation and, the follow up activities of the patient. Once these pathogenic factors have been drawn out, the discoloration will be negligible, if any. This is assuming the individual does not expose themselves to a pathogen or engage in activities that promotes a return of the same or similar condition.

People who regularly get Cupped almost never see dramatic discolorations after the first couple sessions, and if they do see any at all, it is light and disappears within a day or two. In fact, when people truly understand what the marks are, they are sometimes disappointed that more isn't drawn out. Detoxification is really important with the common lifestyle in industrialized countries - the ability of drawing toxins, dead & seforum.xxxnant fluids and disease out in such a real, effective and quick way - is powerful... and people love it.

For those of you doing Cupping and would like to get a Cupping Therapy Consent form (that doubles as an information take home) you can go to the Baguanfa dot com website and email a request.

Jesse

 

[JAMES]

I here what your saying Jesse but in doing a basic goggle search at least half of the sites state bruising is what is happening.

While I have not been trained in it or received it I have had a bunch.... and I mean a bunch of students approach me after that class and show me bruising. They were concerned about it and wanted my opinion.
It has to be bruising sometimes as a client with thin frail vascular walls would bruise if you breath on them hard. The amount of tissue sucked into the jars I have seen would be plenty enough to bruise on early sessions where the tissue is adheared. It does not take much to bruise superficially. Keep in mind you are pulling the tissue in a foreign direction. The fiber alignment is not built to sustain vertical pull and most likely aren't as stable in that plane. When a person cleans feild game they pull the tissue in a vertical direction to cut it away. Thats it's weakest direction. Maybe exposing the vascular bed to more tension force load?
It's the whole pathogenic factors thing that does not make sense to me. I could buy it if we were to say.... the tissue binding is reduce and the lymphatic pathways are made more efficient. Or... the increase in circulation helps flush the area of metabolic waste. Hydrating the area would make membranes more permeable. But that waste can't be drawn to the surface. There are some very specialized membranes that filter... but their very purpose is to control the passage of nutrient and waste removal and not let it get out of the elimination systems. It always seemed a bad idea to suck toxins out of their safe zone into the bodies interstitial layers.

Suction draws to the surface pathogenic factors from within the body, and depending on the depth of suction and the length of time the cup remains in place (or repeatedly moved over) areas of congestion the more possibility of dredging up dead blood, lymph, toxins and disease (and other lingering unhealthy conditions).

Can you dig up some physiology for a crusty old left brainer please? I am not an anatomy wiz by any means and would greatly appreciate some enlightening.

Please understand, I am not debating it's effectiveness.....only the critical reasoning behind it's effectiveness. I think it's important for the massage community as a whole to question and challenge your education. What we were taught only 10-15 years ago is being proven wrong on a daily basis.

Or a link to the 200 threads already debated this.

 

[Christin]

...

 

[asd40751]

I am going to write more about this later when I have more time but I did want to point something out.

There are contraindications for cupping and while Mt's are using it left and right for whatever reason, the original intent for cupping is being lost.

More later.....

 

[bleh^^]

Real purpose of traditional cupping

In the last post, you stated the real purpose of cupping was lost. What was it?

I just received my first cupping session this week, and both as a therapist and a recipient I'm curious to learn more. For those who are practitioners of this modality, could you recommend me some books?


I have to agree with previous posts, that the marks seem to be more pronounced where I had more tension. In fact the darkest mark is right over where I'd had a muscle spasm at work the week before. Anyway, please do continue to explain in greater detail. Thanks!

 

[Kevin G]

Just a suggestion that you might want to send your question out to Breathe, as she works with cupping,
and some time ago did an extensive review of the types
she used, & which ones seemed to function better then others as well.

You'll find it under:

Tools of the Trade/Cupping Review