What Is Cupping Therapy?
Cupping therapy is a kind of alternative therapy originating in ancient Chinese and Egyptian medicine that helps to relieve pain and inflammation. Cupping therapy can be beneficial for massage therapists and other wellness professionals to learn so they can expand their offerings and help their clients even more.
HICI Go is an online education platform that connects learners with a diverse array of live webinars, on-demand online courses, and in-person courses. Here, we discuss cupping therapy and the related courses available through HICI Go.
How Does Cupping Therapy Work?
Cupping therapy is usually performed by a massage therapist or other wellness professional. The process starts with the therapist placing special cups, usually made of glass, bamboo, or silicone, on the affected area of the body to create suction. Cupping can be done on parts of the body like the stomach, back, arms, or legs. How cupping therapy works depends on the method used:
Dry Cupping
Traditional dry cupping involves heating the inside of the cups with a flammable substance like an alcohol-soaked cotton ball. Once the cups are heated, they are placed upside down on the patient’s skin for around three minutes to create suction.
More modern methods of dry cupping use suction devices to create a vacuum instead of heat. With either method, the suction causes the skin to expand as small blood vessels burst just beneath the skin, encouraging blood circulation that may help reduce pain and promote healing.
Wet Cupping
Wet cupping, also known as bleeding cupping, uses a similar process. The main difference is that the patient’s skin is lightly punctured with a needle between suction sessions to allow the skin to bleed. The suction lets out a small quantity of blood, which advocates believe helps release toxins.
Running Cupping
Running cupping is also like dry cupping, but it uses a lubricant such as oil or lotion before the cups are placed. This allows the therapist to gently move the cups in different directions around the skin to treat a larger area of the body.
The force of the suction cups causes blood vessels called capillaries to burst under the skin, which leads to red, round marks that resemble bruises. These marks generally go away within a week or two, and the therapist may provide antibiotic cream and bandages to help aid healing.
What Are the Benefits of Cupping Therapy?
Cupping therapy has become widely used in alternative medicine to provide pain relief for musculoskeletal injuries like strains and sprains, as well as chronic conditions such as arthritis and back pain. Research suggests cupping has pain relief benefits, but scientists need more research to conclusively understand the benefits of cupping therapy. However, patients who’ve experienced relief from cupping therapy say it offers several benefits, including:
- Reduced pain and inflammation
- Decreased muscle tension and tightness
- Improved circulation
- Increased range of motion
- Relaxation
The primary side effects of cupping are bruising and skin irritation.
Many patients use cupping therapy in conjunction with other medical therapies to offer the best results. Although cupping therapy is usually safe for patients, patients can experience bruising, skin irritation, and even infection afterward. These chances can be mitigated by going to a licensed professional for cupping therapy.
Learn Cupping Therapy Through HICI Go
HICI Go is an online learning center providing a diverse catalog of instructional courses on health, wellness, and beauty topics. Our massage courses can help licensed professionals expand their skill sets and advance their offerings, and help aspiring professionals to learn massage and start their journey toward an exciting career. Available in three convenient formats: in-person, live webinars, and online anytime, HICI Go massage courses enable access to learning in-demand techniques like cupping therapy, hot-stone massage, and more. Cupping therapy courses offered through HICI Go cover topics such as:
- Facial and Abdominal Cupping
- Facial Cupping for Esthetics
- Advanced Cupping – Range Of Motion (STATIC)
These courses cover a variety of essential techniques that help students expand their skills. Our course selection is updated frequently with new offerings, so check back often to see if any courses you’ve been wanting to take have been added.
Continue Your Education With Cupping Therapy
If you’re in the massage, health, or wellness industry and are interested in adding services to your repertoire, consider HICI Go as the place to learn cupping therapy. HICI Go’s online platform provides instructional courses in hair, makeup, and massage, including in-demand techniques like cupping therapy, to people around the U.S. We also partner with Cortiva Institute and Hollywood Institute for in-person courses in Florida, Texas, Connecticut, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Contact us today to learn more about HICI Go or to register for an upcoming course.