SOHMA Integrative Medicine

We offer the best of Eastern & Western medicine without using drugs or surgery

Cupping Therapy

What Therapies Compliment Cupping?

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Cupping therapy is one of the oldest forms of medicine, used for thousands of years in Asian countries. More recently, Cupping therapy has grown in popularity after several celebrities and athletes have been spotted with round marks down their backs. Often confused for bruises, these marks are akin to “hickies” and can give insight into how well your treatment is going.

Cupping uses negative pressure inside a cup that is placed upon the skin. The vacuum pulls up the skin along with fascia and muscle tissue. This increases blood flow into the treated area, bringing fresh oxygenated blood into the soft tissue and aiding the healing process. Depending on the color of the mark can signify whether you’re progressing through treatment.

On its own, Cupping therapy can provide significant pain relief and is often enough for most patients. That being said, a few other modalities complement the Cupping treatment—combining them to give even better results than if you were to do one on its own.

Join me today as we explore a few other therapies that complement Cupping. 

Deep Tissue Massage

Massages feel great and are highly therapeutic. They can increase blood circulation in the body and can break down muscle “knots”. Muscle knots are often caused by tense muscle fibers and irritated fascia, causing trigger points. Deep tissue massages can apply pressure onto the trigger point until the fibers relax. This can be a painful experience. In contrast, the trigger point is being massaged but results in overall relief of pain and, in some cases, increased mobility.

Cupping can be used with massage techniques such as trigger point therapy or deep tissue massage to improve the effectiveness of a massage treatment. Alternatively, you can also ask about moving Cupping. This is a deep tissue massage using oils or lotion in the affected area and having the practitioner slide an attached cup into the treated place. This can help break down scar tissue and flush your back or shoulders with healthy oxygenated blood.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture and Cupping are both forms of Traditional Chinese Medicine. For acupuncture, needles are used at specific acupuncture points to help with recovery. Hundreds of these acupuncture points exist throughout your body, each with its name and purpose. Depending on your condition, a different combination of these acupuncture points can be triggered. 

Cupping therapy can be added to acupuncture to help further improve blood circulation in the treated area and alleviate tension. Feel free to ask the helpful SOHMA staff if they recommend acupuncture and Cupping therapy. 

Chiropractic Adjustments

Chiropractic adjustments manipulate and re-align subluxations in the vertebrae. Although chiropractic focuses on the joints and bones while targeting the soft tissue, combining the two may result in faster healing. Cupping can relax the tight muscles surrounding the area where a chiropractor needs to adjust. 

Chiropractors who use Cupping therapy when adjusting and manipulating the spine say it’s a more friendly approach for patients to receive treatment. The cups attach to the skin, creating a vacuum. This then tightens the skin, fascia, and muscles, allowing chiropractors to make adjustments easier. 

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA, we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

What are the Disadvantages of Cupping?

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Cupping therapy

Many athletes and celebrities have been seen with round marks down their backs. Cupping is an ancient form of therapy used for thousands of years. 

Benefits from Cupping therapy include pain reduction, reduced inflammation, relaxation, reduced anxiety, and overall well-being. Join me today as we dive into Cupping therapy and what, if any, disadvantages it has.

What is Cupping Therapy

Cupping therapy is a traditional medicine in which a cup is placed on the skin, and the air is pumped out. This will result in the soft tissue getting pulled into the cup, stretching the skin, fascia, and muscle tissues. This can promote blood circulation and aid in recovery. When the soft tissue is pulled and stretched into the cup, the body may respond with increased blood circulation in the treated area. The increase in blood flow may flush out stagnated toxins. This can have the additional benefit of reduced swelling, which can help manage pain and accelerate the body’s ability to recover naturally.

The importance of blood circulation must be recognized when it comes to recovery. Although we have dedicated organs to remove toxins and promote healing, they can sometimes be overwhelmed. Especially when constantly exposed to smoke, chemicals, and other toxins in our daily life.

Disadvantages of Cupping

Some patients find them embarrassing and often confused with bruising. Though they are not bruises as they don’t tend to hurt as bruising does. These round marks can provide insight into how effective the therapy is.

Side effects of Cupping are rare though some patients have reported feeling nausea, sweating, or dizziness. Mild soreness and minimal pain can be felt in the treated area. 

Cupping therapy is generally a safe practice though there are some exceptions. Patients with bleeding conditions such as hemophilia, blood clotting issues, or hemorrhages shouldn’t practice cupping. Patients who recently suffered cardiac arrests within the last 6 months should avoid Cupping therapy. Be sure to inform the helpful staff at SOHMA if you have any skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, as cupping can aggravate the skin in the treated area. 

What are The Round Marks

The round marks left behind after cupping can signify how well your therapy is going. A pale mark can indicate an imbalance in your circulation or that the area being treated isn’t functioning appropriately. Light red or pink marks typically mean this area has good blood circulation and is nearing the end of the therapy. Red marks often indicate a large accumulation of toxins, and you may be experiencing pain and other symptoms. This usually means treatment has just started. If the mark is dark red or nearly purple, it can signify that this body part needs the most attention.

The discoloration on the surface of your skin is temporary, and the round marks aren’t permanent. However, depending on the colors the cupping therapy produces can greatly change the time required for the marks to fade away. The lightest colors can often fade away after a few hours, while the darker marks may take up to two weeks to completely vanish.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can contact us and ask about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA, we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step to better health.

How Long Do Cupping Marks Last?

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Marks are signs that cupping therapy is working correctly.

What is cupping therapy and what are those round marks left behind afterwards?

Cupping therapy is a traditional Chinese medicine that in recent years has become a popular form of healing therapy used by many athletes and celebrities in the west. The cups are used to make negative pressure on the skin whether with fire or a pump. The skin, muscle, fascia and other soft tissue are then sucked into the cup causing vasodilation. This increases blood flow to the areas being treated. It’s been used to help recover from injury and pain by improving blood circulation.  Cupping can also help people suffering from mental health issues like insomnia and anxiety among other things. 

What are these round marks?

The marks left behind after a cupping session are often mistaken for bruises, this is not the case. These marks are not bruises however, they can be used to tell you a great deal about how far you’ve progressed in your treatment.

Meaning of Round Marks

The round marks left behind can let us know if your treatment is going well. Healthy blood circulation should result in a mild redness, it will signify that there is only a slight stagnation in the blood and there is overall good blood flow. When we begin to see marks resulting in this color, it’s likely that you are nearing the end of your treatment. If you still feel pain, perhaps you require another form of therapy like acupuncture or IV therapy.

If the resulting mark is pale or has no change, it can mean there is an imbalance in your circulation. This can also mean that a particular area is not functioning or performing properly.

Fair stagnation typically results in the round marks being pink or a light shade of red. Usually this means there is an accumulation of toxins near or around this area causing some pain. Blood flow is still good but you may still require some work to be done.

A red mark with dark spots shows that there is a large accumulation of toxins in the body. You may be experiencing pain and other symptoms. Don’t be alarmed, this just means you need more treatment.

Dark marks which have a purple color to them can mean there is severe stagnation of toxins. These are the parts of the body which require the most attention.

How Long Do The Marks Last?

Any discoloration of the surface of the skin is temporary, but depending on the range of colors produced by cupping will determine how long the marks will last. Typically, the lighter the color the quicker the mark will fade. The lightest colored marks such as light red or pink tend to fade a few hours after a cupping therapy session. The red cupping marks which signify a fair amount of stagnation will fade after a couple of days. The red marks with dark spots tend to take much longer to clear out but usually 3 days to a week. The deep red marks which can take as long as 2 weeks to completely fade.

These marks are normal after a cupping therapy session, and have nothing to worry about. Although many people will call them bruises, these marks don’t hurt. They are more along the line of a hickey, except performed by a specialist to help treat your ailments and pains.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

Addressing Severe Stagnation in Cupping Therapy

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Cupping therapy is a great therapy to address stagnation.

Before talking about severe stagnation, let’s understand what cupping therapy is. Athletes and celebrities have used cupping therapy to help recover from injury and pain by improving blood circulation. 

The cup creates negative pressure with either fire or a pump. This negative pressure pulls the skin, fascia, muscle, and other tissues into the cup, flushing out toxins and promoting blood flow to the treated area and usually leaving a round mark after a session.

Today, we will talk about how we can determine stagnation and how Cupping therapy can help release stagnation under the skin to bring pain relief.

Round Marks and What they Mean

Round marks left behind after a cupping therapy session are often misinterpreted as bruises. Don’t worry, though as these marks are not bruises and can tell you a great deal about your progression in treatment. Depending on the color, you could be nearing the end of your treatment.

Healthy blood circulation will only show a mild redness. This signifies a slight stagnation of toxins in the blood and there is good blood flow. When this results, it’s very likely that you are either nearing the end of your treatment. Alternatively, it can mean that you may need other forms of therapy to address your issues, such as Massage Therapy or IV therapy.

If there is no reaction at all, it could mean there is an imbalance of circulation. It may mean that the area lacks function and is likely not performing correctly.

Moderate stagnation is shown when the mark is considerably redder, it means there is an accumulation of toxins within this area. Blood flow is good but some work still needs to be done.

When there are spottings with a red mark it means there is beginning to be a large accumulation of toxins in the body and there will be more cupping sessions to deal with it.

If a dark, nearly purple mark is left behind then there is severe stagnation. These parts of the body require the most attention and tend to take the longest to heal.

What is Severe Stagnation

In Cupping Therapy severe stagnation can be determined by the aforementioned dark purple mark. This usually indicates that the injury or ailment is not new and it’s been left alone for long periods of time. The injury will therefore require more time to clear the stagnation.

But what does that mean? 

Where there is stagnation, there will likely be a pain. In Traditional Chinese Medicine the term stagnation is one of the most common causes of disease. Stagnation can be caused by chronic stress, pollution, smoke, or chemicals that your body can’t remove on its own. Usually, our bodies are able to remove stagnation, but when this is not possible there becomes a buildup of toxins which can cause severe stagnation. 

If you want to remove the pain, remove the stagnation. Cupping therapy is one method used to remove this stagnation by clearing the blockage to restore your body’s natural blood and energy flow. Once the stagnation begins to clear you’ll notice some pain relief.

Cupping therapy is fine for the majority of patients however, those who have sensitive skin, are pregnant, bleed easily, or are physically weak should ask our staff at SOHMA to see if Cupping therapy is right for them

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

Can Cupping Help with Anxiety?

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Undergoing cupping therapy has additional benefits for both the body and mind.

In recent years the importance of mental health has been made clear. Every day more and more people are being diagnosed with some kind of mental health condition like anxiety. Today we want to share with you how cupping therapy can help reduce anxiety and alleviate some of the stress that comes with it.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety has many forms of manifesting itself and acts differently depending on each person. Everyone feels anxious from time to time. It is normal for most people to have feelings of anxiety, it is the brain’s way of reacting to things that can be stressful. It is meant to alert you if there is any potential danger near. It is okay to feel anxious before making important decisions, when facing difficult work problems, or for students about to take a difficult test.

When anxiety becomes a mental health disorder is when you feel the symptoms of anxiety more regularly and more intensely. Excessive and constant worry and fear about everyday situations. Higher heart rates, hyperventilating, tension, exhaustion, and sweating can occur. Often causing panic attacks. You should seek your primary care provider if you can not work, complete daily tasks, find it difficult to maintain relationships, or are abusing substances. It’s important for us to know the degree of anxiety to properly treat each individual patient.

What is Cupping Therapy?

Cupping therapy is a Chinese traditional medicine when a small vacuum is formed within a cup whether by heating the cup or using a pump and placed atop the skin. The vacuum formed then sucks the skin into the cup along with the fascia, muscle, and other soft tissues. The cupping process causes vasodilation, which increases blood circulation to the treated areas. Removing stagnant toxins and circulating fresh oxygenated blood to the affected area. 

When performed by a well-trained practitioner such as the ones staffed at SOHMA Integrative Medicine in Long Beach CA, the risks and side effects are minimal. The only thing left behind is round marks left by the cup which can give an insight into how well the therapy is working. Darker marks may require more treatment in that area than lighter marks.

Cupping Therapy and Mental Health

You may be wondering how getting your skin and soft tissue pulled into a cup can help with anxiety. Cupping therapy helps indirectly by activating your parasympathetic nervous system as the cups glide over your body. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for lowering your heart rate and helping with digestion. When active the parasympathetic nervous system produces a calm and relaxing feeling in your body and mind. This reaction can loosen tension in your body which may result in a reduction in stress and anxiety.

Additionally cupping therapy promotes better sleep quality by reducing pain and removing toxins from the body. Allowing for longer consistent sleep helps with mental and physical recovery. It is well documented that there is a correlation between the lack of sleep and people who are prone to suffering from anxiety. As well as people suffering from anxiety have a hard time staying asleep. Without the rejuvenating effects of a good night’s sleep, it is possible for people to spiral into an unhealthy cycle that can be dangerous for their mental health.

Is Cupping Therapy Right for You?

Cupping therapy is a safe practice although there are some exceptions. If you have bleeding disorders like Hemophilia or blood clotting issues like deep vein thrombosis. If you have a history of strokes or seizures you should ask about your condition before receiving cupping therapy. If you have skin conditions like psoriasis or eczema your skin may become irritated when having cupping therapy.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.