What The Cup? The Lowdown On Cupping Therapy
Yesterday, I got my Myofascial Cupping Practitioner Certification! Aka I can now perform cupping! Personally, I’m pretty pumped about it, and you should be, too.
Cupping has been around for about 5000 years, but it has recently exploded in popularity. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Micheal Phelps stepped onto the swimming platform covered in purple dots along his shoulders. Cupping marks. Five gold medals later, the sports massage world found its newest trend.
In true Fargo fashion, I’m about 4 years behind this trend! Nonetheless, I’m ready to share it with the world!
Here is the lowdown on what cupping is and who would benefit from it.
What Is Cupping?
Cupping is a form of manual therapy where the therapist places special cups on the client. The cups create a suction to help minimize pain, reduce inflammation, and increase circulation.
The cups can be made from an assortment of materials. The most popular tends to be glass. Personally, I am starting with silicon. They tend to be a little less aggressive.
Why Get Cupping?
Cupping is a form of myofascial release. Sounds fancy, huh?!? Let me de-nerd that for you. All of your muscles are surrounded by fascial tissue. (Think of the white film you find in a steak.) This facia allows the muscle fibers to slide past each other without causing friction.
However, this fascial tissue can break down. It can be from injury, overuse, age, and supernatural phenomenon (jk, maybe, didn’t find any studies to disprove it). Whatever the reason, it’s no bueno!
Damaged fascial tissue becomes tacky and binds up. This tissue that was meant to help the muscles move, is now glued to each other. This creates restrictions in muscle movement.
These restrictions can limit how far the muscle can stretch. I have clients who are super flexible, but can’t touch their toes because their hamstrings have so many adhesions.
In addition to limited range of motion, adhesions are weak links in the muscles. These areas are more susceptible to injury. Sudden jerks or unnatural movements can put stress on an area of a muscle that wasn’t designed to take the strain.
Long story short, adhesions are pesky little invaders that need to be stopped!
Who Needs Cupping?
Athletes: Breaking up adhesions helps your muscles move to their full capacity. It can reduce the risk of injury, decrease recovery time, and improve performance.
People with multiple problem areas: Is your neck killing you, but you suffer from low back pain? Cupping can be performed on your low back WHILE we spend time on your neck. Same can go with most areas. It’s like an extra set of hands massaging you. You can get more work done in less time!
People who can’t handle deep pressure: Cupping can give you all of the myofascial release benefits without the intense pressure of deep tissue.
Octopus enthusiasts: Just kidding
What Now?
Cupping is now an add-on service offered at Rest Day Massage Therapy in Fargo. It’s only $9 to add it to the session, AND you get the cupping marks that last for 3-5 days Just book the desired length of your appointment and we add it into your treatment.
Happy Rest Days!