Myofascial Cupping
Have you ever seen anyone with those red to purple circles on their skin? Well, it certainly is better for the body than it looks and it is called Myofascial Cupping. It is an alternative medicine or massage technique involving the application of cups on to the skin. The vacuum on the area where the cup is applied creates the dark marks on the skin. But there is more to the technique than just the marks.
Myofascial Cupping is a traditional therapy that goes all the way back to 1500 BC. Though there is no concensus on its origin it has been recognised in ancient Greek, Korean, Egyptian, Chinese and Indian civilisations. In Traditional Chinese Medicine it is known as ‘Bu Huo Guan’ in which they place the cups on acupressure points called “Ashi”.
The purpose of using Myofascial Cups is easing the soft tissue restriction by helping it release and mobilise. Due to do the suction of the cup vasodilation occurs in the blood vessels. This in turn increases the blood flow and helps the repair of the damaged area. Where a regular deep tissue massage compresses the tense area in order to release it, the Myofascial Cups lift up and glide over the tissue, thus decompressing the tense area.
Lymph fluid transports oxygen, hormones and nutrients to different parts of the body and removes metabolic waste from the cells. It also transports antibodies and lymphocytes to the blood. Lymph fluid moves through lymph capillaries and gets filtered in the bigger lymph nodes. But to get the lymph fluid to move from one place to another the skeletal muscles should be moved or a difference in pressure should be created. To stimulate this movement of lymph fluid from one place to another the Myofascial Cups can help; by creating a suction and gliding towards the lymph nodes the difference in pressure creates movement in the lymphatic capillaries. Why would we want lymph to move? Simple; if it doesn’t move it causes swelling and keeps waste or toxins created during exercise in the muscles which causes muscle soreness for longer than necessary.
Myofascial Cupping can help remove Trigger Points(TrP). TrP’s are sensitive areas of tight muscle fibres that can form in your muscles after injuries or overuse. These can cause strain and pain throughout the muscle that radiates to different parts of the body. When this pain persists and the TrP is not released it is called Myofacial Pain Syndrome. To release TrP’s there are various therapies you can try, Myofascial Cupping is one of them. As explained before the cup creates vasodilation in the blood vessels increasing the blood circulation to the TrP, which in turn helps resolve the TrP.
As all methods there are some important factors to consider. Just because Myofascial Cupping has benefits does not mean it is beneficial for everyone, the vacuum created by the cups can be rather painful or uncomfortable. Myofascial Cupping is best done by someone who is trained to do so and it should not be done in case of; clotting disorders, arterial or venous diseases, pregnancy(especially in the first trimester), rashes, inflamed skin, active infections, open wounds or hernia.
