You probably have had a curious look on your face when watching sports on TV, or even meeting with friends, and you see these circular areas of bruising on their bodies. What happened? What did they do?
Well, in fact, they asked for it. This is called “Cupping” and it is a modified version of a traditional Chinese medical treatment.
Various rehabilitation specialists do it, including chiropractors, physiotherapists, and massage therapists in order to help to break down rigid tissue (muscle and fascia), and assists in the release of excess fluids and toxins. It also promotes blood flow and can help improve range of motion.
The process involves the therapist putting special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. It uses negative pressure (suction) to lift the soft tissues of the body. This is “not” fire cupping. Generally, patients get cupping for many purposes, including to help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation, and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage.
After a session, the cups may leave circular bruises or bruise-like marks on your treated areas. The color and pattern of the marks depend on the level of stagnation in the area and can range from a bright red to a dark purple, usually lasting three days to a week, sometimes a bit longer.
Once someone who receives this treatment understands what these marks are and they feel the benefits, their concerns disappear. Cups can be made out of silicone, rubber, glass, or even bamboo and can be left in place or moved along the body depending on what type of issue the massage therapist is treating the patient for.
Each session can last between 30-50 minutes depending on the area in which requires treatment.
Sometimes, when someone is rehabilitating from a chronic injury, and there is a lot of scar tissue binding the skin to the underlying muscles, or even between muscle layers, it can be hard to recover as the tissue layers are not able to freely move independent of each other. That is why this is a novel and emerging technique to help our bodies recover from injuries and musculoskeletal complaints, and allow us to become reactivated again.
Source:
https://www.massageexperts.ca/services/cupping-therapy-massage/
Laura brings a diverse background to Reactivate after graduating as a Registered Massage Therapist from Everest College of Health and Technology in 2014. Prior to pursuing her RMT, she was actively engaged in the fields of graphic design and professional photography.
After graduating from Everest, Laura had a strong client following in North Bay where she worked in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation clinic. We are truly lucky to have her as part of our team at Reactivate.
Laura brings an incredible skill set and experience to provide our clients with deep tissue and therapeutic techniques. She has been affiliated with a number of sports and athletes, but loves working with people of all ages who just enjoy the pursuit of active lifestyles.
Through various relaxation and therapeutic massage techniques, she works to give her clients pain free movement, reduce symptoms of stress or medical conditions, increase strength and range of motion, and help them heal from injury. Laura’s goal is to give her clients the opportunity to achieve and maintain a strong sense of health and wellness.
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