What is cupping in Woodbury MN? This is a form of therapy that has been used for thousands of years in Egypt, China, the Middle East, areas of Europe and even North America. During this therapy, the therapist places cups on your skin on the area that is in need of treatment. The cups can be made of silicon, glass, bamboo and even animal horns and shells.

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There are different ways to cup in Woodbury MN

The traditional way is fire cupping, but now-a-days, suction cupping has become more popular. Fire cupping, the cups are applied to your skin using a flame to create a vacuum. The vacuum causes the skin to be pulled up into the cup. The cup can stay in place from anywhere from 5-20 minutes. Suction cupping is basically the same except there is no heat or flame used and this procedure uses plastic cups.

Cupping therapy can be used to treat all kinds of ailments, but is known to best work in conjunction with other forms of therapy such as acupuncture, massage, medicine and chiropractic care. Cupping is well known to help with the treatment of pain, scar tissue, knots, swelling and tension.

There are other ailments that cupping has been known to help with. According to the YinOva Center in New York, cupping is a great way to stimulate detoxification, help open up your lungs, improve overall circulation. When the cups are placed on the skin and the skin is lifted up into the cup, that creates space for the lymph and blood to flow properly and can help stimulate the healing process.

Some other ailments that cupping can help with:

• Blood disorders such as high blood pressure
• Rheumatic diseases and arthritis
• Infertility and other gynecological problems
• Skin conditions like Acne and Eczema
• Wrinkles and Facial rejuvenation
• Detoxification
• Respiratory diseases
• Pain
• Weight loss
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Injuries of soft tissue
• Deep scar tissue
• Fevers and infections
• Headaches

There are some temporary side effects that can happen with cupping.There may be some slight muscle soreness.When the skin and underlying muscles are being worked on, the tissue is being broken up and micro-tears can occur in the tissues causing some discoloration called Petechiae.This however, is known to improve the blood flow and promote healing to the area.The discoloration should subside in a few days following treatment.

WebMd also says that burns and skin infections can occur depending on the type of cupping that is done.There is dry cupping and wet cupping.With wet cupping, the therapist sometimes will use a scalpel to cut the skin slightly to help with blood flow.With this treatment, there may be a slight possibility that a skin infection can occur and can spread if not taken care of properly.

To find more information please do your research in finding an acupuncturist or Chinese medicine therapist.There are many sources on line and even at your local Chinese medicine schools.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Christine Bartholomew, D.C.