What the Cup!? How dry cupping can benefit your muscular and respiratory system.
- September 9, 2020
Many of us have heard or have seen cupping whether it was online or in movies such as the karate kid but, what is it? Cupping is a form of alternative medicine that has been around for thousands of years. The method has been used by various different cultures uniquely performed in their own way but with the common intention to remove or “suction” unwanted materials from the body like sickness, pains, and even pathogenic substances. Fast forward to the present day, practitioners have steadily adopted dry cupping as a complementary and alternative method of therapy to treat inconveniences spanning from constipation to back and shoulder pain.
So how does dry cupping aid the muscular system?
Physical therapy works continuously to encourage the softening,pliability and hydration of muscle tissue when it is tense. Dry Cupping benefits arise from the negative pressure created by the cups. This pressure encourages blood flow within the muscles and greatly enhances the expulsion of accumulated metabolic waste and lymph movement. Because of this, dry cupping is a great tool for athletes who constantly work their muscles and are in need of faster recovery. While manual therapies press into muscles to create space and separation for greater blood flow, Dry cupping lifts the tissue to create space while also pulling blood into the area. The negative pressure also lifts and stretches tight muscle fibers which in return will decompress any pressure on nerves that pass through the muscles.
Not just the muscular system?
The beauty of dry cupping is that it serves more than just the muscular system. It also can benefit the respiratory system! With COVID-19 affecting the respiratory system it is good to know there are other methods that can help you maintain this vital system. Dry cupping can assist in coughing, yes you read that correctly. What dry cupping does to help is similar to the muscular system. The negative pressure produced by the cups can help loosen the mucus and promote the expulsion of the mucus that has built up inside you. Your lung tissue also benefits from dry cupping. A stronger session of dry cupping can reach as deep as 4 inches into the body. Applying cups over the lung region will create a gentle lift and expansion of the tissue directly below the cup, this in turn will induce micro circulation. All the muscles involved in breathing, primary and accessory can benefit from the relief of dry cupping. Placement on the entire rib cage region brings openness to the intercostal muscles and diaphragm, which predominantly stay in a condensed state. Dry cupping will relieve this and better breathing patterns will persist.
Better than a cup of tea
These are just a few benefits that dry cupping therapy can provide, it is an ancient wisdom that has withstood the test of time and is now being included as a complementary treatment; its inclusion in modern medicine will only continue to grow. We at Allied Health Solutions provide this service using only effective techniques to ensure you benefit the most of dry cupping. To learn more about dry cupping and its benefits and to have it performed please contact the team at Allied Health Solutions for more information!
References
Gilmartin, S. (2017). The guide to modern cupping therapy: A step-by-step source for vacuum therapy. Firefly Books.
