Cupping: The New Trend in Sports
By: Kyle Magyar
This year in the Rio Olympics, what some of the athletes were doing to their physical appearances left a lot of people wondering what they are doing. These strange circular bruises left on the athletes are the reminiscence of a new type of healing called cupping. Ever since the Olympics people have been searching everywhere to find and try this new therapy. The origin is still not confirmed but it is an ancient art of healing. It has been dated back to 1.500 B.C. in Egypt and Chinese cultures1.
How this works is by using either glass, bamboo, or silicone cups placed around certain parts of the body. Originally these cups are placed by the administrator and he/she “will put a flammable substance such as alcohol, herbs, or paper in a cup and set it on fire. As the fire goes out, he puts the cup upside down on your skin.”1 This causes a vacuum effect on your skin and will be pulled up and further inside the cup. Modern usages are done by a rubber pump that attaches to the cups as to not use flames. What this does is opens blood vessels and causes blood to be drawn to a spot then released through the body. It is believed to help with “pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage.”1 Caution should be used though when decided to do this therapy. As most saw at the Olympics, there will be bruising on your skin that could last 7-10 days. Also if not tended to a person can get mild infections on the spots and can also receive burns if done the traditional way.
Though of course this has not been a proven form of medicine it is turning heads. Athletes will try just about anything to get an edge and if they feel this works then maybe there is something to it, but you should do your research before deciding if this is for you or not. I believe this could be a great way to relieve tension and get blow flowing in the body and do not think this will be the last we see of these marks.
References:
WebMD. David Kiefer, MD. (Aug. 10, 2016). Cupping Therapy. Retrieved from: http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/cupping-therapy?page=2
Like most people, I first learned about cupping while watching the Olympics this summer. I think it is a very interesting form of therapy but I did not know it had such a long history behind it. I feel it could be used for good, but like you said, must be done properly to avoid complications.
ReplyDelete