Cupping

Cupping Origins

The exact origin of cupping is still in debate, it is evident however that forms of cupping has been part of therapeutic practice throughout human history, migrating with human tribes along migratory routes.

In the earliest of times, hollowed out animal horns, bones, bamboo, nuts, and seashells where used to treat infections and skin lesions from the body.

The earliest recorded use of Cupping is from the famous Taoist alchemist and herbalist, Ge Hong (281¬341 A.D.). In ancient Greece, Hippocrates recommended the use of cups for a variety of ailments.

Cupping can be found in writings of Hippocrates (C.460-377 BC), he is/was known as the Father of Modern Medicine. During this golden era of the early Greek state, Hippocrates and his followers were devoted to an empiric approach to healing and sought naturalistic explanations why people became ill.

Suction Cup Therapies remained a constant in professional medical treatment throughout Europe. It was practiced by such famous physicians as Galen (131-200AD), Paracelsus (1493-1541), Ambroise Pare (1509-90) and surgeon Charles Kennedy (1826).

In China, cupping therapy is a mainstay of government-sponsored hospitals of Traditional Chinese medicine. The fundamental therapeutic value of Cupping has been documented through several thousand years of clinical and subjective experience and has advanced its application to many areas.

Today, cupping is still used in Greece, Holland, Russia and Turkey outside of the umbrella of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Cupping Treatment

In traditional Chinese medicine it involves placing glass, plastic, or bamboo cups on the skin with a vacuum. The vacuum created inside the cup suctions the skin and deeper tissue to draw out toxins and clear blood stagnation.

A 15 minute cupping treatment can equal or even better the results of a 1 hr massage, and will in most cases leave a much longer lasting therapeutic result.