Cupping therapy is a technique that uses cups placed over the skin to create negative pressure through suction. Cupping is the reverse of massage where instead of pressing down onto the skin and muscles, a vacuum is created within the cup, pulling up on the skin, fascia/connective tissue, muscles and other structures. Cupping therapy often produces a discoloration of the skin or ‘transitory therapeutic petechiae’, (sounds like “puh-tee-kee-uh”)… tiny round brown-purple spots due to bleeding under the skin. When petechial blood is reabsorbed, the breakdown of hemoglobin upregulates a number of substances that are anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective. Cupping therapy supports immunity, reduces fever, decreases inflammation, stimulates inhibitory neural pathways, alters pain thresholds, and promotes blood circulation… thereby reducing discomfort in the target tissues.
(Microperfusion (same as microcirculation? definition of this?) is increased by up to 400% in the local areas.) (Xia et al., 2008)
Here is a brief summation of study findings that can be found in this article….
223 articles, 64 studies included in review → neural, hematological, and immunological actions
pain gate theory (PGT) → cupping stimulates pain receptors, leads to an increase in the frequency of impulses, leads to closure of the pain gates, reduces pain
diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNICs) → activates A∂ and C nerve fibers, ‘pain inhibits pain’ phenomenon
release of nitric oxide (NO) → derived from endothelial cells, causes vasodilatation, a decrease in vascular resistance, lower blood pressure, inhibition of platelet aggregation and adhesion, inhibition of leukocyte adhesion and migration, and reduction of smooth muscle proliferation, and all these
effects prevent development of atherosclerosis.
activation of immune system → irritates the immune system by making artificial local
inflammation, activates the complementary system, increases level of immune products such as
interferon and tumor necrotizing factor, has “bidirectional effects” on human immunoglobulins
(corrects irregular level, insignificant effect on normal immunoglobulins)
reflex zone theory → premise that signs and symptoms of illness related to one dermatome may
be reflected in changes in neighboring dermatomes, skin and organ communicate through neural pathways
blood detoxification → differences between venous & cupping blood (uric acid, urea, triglycerides and cholesterol, iron, red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, viscosity, mean corpuscular
hemoglobin, aluminum, mercury, silver and lead