Cupping

Cupping is a therapy in which glass or plastic jars or cups create a vacuum when applied to the skin. The vacumn is created by introducing heat, usually a swab or cotton ball dipped in alcohol and lit, to create a negative pressure within the cup. Many years ago the Chinese used horns or bamboo cups.

The cupping method has the function of warming and promoting the free flow of Qi and blood in the meridians, dispelling cold and dampness, diminishing swellings and pains.

In clinical practice the cupping method is mainly used to treat Bi Syndrome caused by wind (cold or heat) dampness such as pain of the lower back, shoulders and legs. Cupping is also useful for gastrointestinal disorders such as stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhoea and the lung diseases such as cough, asthma, pneumonia and tuberculosis.

Sometimes cupping may be combined with bloodletting to treat acute sprains accompanied by blood stasis in the points, meridians and muscles. Occasionally a cup may be placed over the top of an acupuncture needle and often they are moved up and down a channel or large muscle (migratory cups).