Here is an awesome journal article about Cupping by Bruce Bentley.
It’s a pretty long read, but even if you skim it, it has some great information about the many uses for cupping therapy. Healing the fascia, restrictions, pain, and even balancing energy meridians.
The author is also a practitioner, and he includes case studies, history, variations of the practice, similarities to other methods, origins and additions to Shamanic practices, Chinese medicine, Thai massage, and so many other fascinating facts that make me love my Cupping fascial therapy even more!
“…by sliding a flexible cup very, very slowly (“at snail’s pace”) over knotted and/ or congested fibrous tissue hampered by injury, pain and immobility, the palpable subcutaneous tissue directly below the cup was quickly remodeled.”
“For decades, I have applied cupping with excellent success in relieving pain and restoring integrity to other soft-tissue disorders. This includes treating scar tissue, reducing stretch marks and clearing cellulite. More recently we have adopted flexible cups to more effectively disperse trigger points, as well as using other new cupping instruments such as miniature hand-blown glass cups with an attached aspirator pump applied at local points to clear sinus congestion, significantly reduce and often completely clear up in inflammatory skin conditions, ease TMJ syndrome and relieve mild headache.”
“the tools that enabled Shirley and I to begin our work in applying them for myofascial release and for the dissolution of trigger points.”
“The stretch marks, which prior to treatment were cold and alabaster white, indicating weakness and poor circulation, are now mauve/purple, which demonstrates a deep blockage of cold and blood stagnation within the underlying tissue, until now. This colour will fade over two to three days and result in a healthier skin tone and stronger tissue structure.”
“the correlations between the classical meridian pathways and the broad expanses of fascial sheaths, the location of acupuncture points with concentrations of fascia, and even the elicitation of deqi, which she calls “needle grasp” with “cellular changes that propagate along connective tissue planes” all add to an anatomical perspective of acupuncture as well as “suggest a potentially important integrative role for interstitial connective tissue”
“If the muscles are chronically tight in an area, the muscle contraction could restrict blood vessels, slowing down blood flow, which could thicken the blood through platelet activity. Cupping could draw stagnant blood and toxins through the muscle to restore blood flow in these areas of chronic myospasm. The act of cupping would also bring phagocytic activity to the area thus “cleaning it up”. This explanation could help to account for cupping marks, whereby the suction effect on the vessels and tissues draws old blood and debris to the skin surface.”
“the slower cup has more time to create a local vacuum and pull blood through restricted blood vessels thus restoring a more normal vascular flow and drainage at a local level. Without changes in blood flow, healing cannot take place and any changes are short term.”
“It became apparent during treatment that the tight nodules that had held fast had restricted the orderly spread of surface fascia, which in turn had tightened the range of my lungs to breathe deeply. When I went to mobilise my arm and shoulder following treatment, my range of movement was complete with no pain.”
Click to access Modern%20Cupping%20essay.pdf
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Wellness Rising 