Cupping uses specially designed cups placed on trigger points and pressure points. Gentle negative pressure lifts the tissue, drawing blood flow into the area. It is commonly used for tight muscles.
It is one of the oldest techniques in the Chinese medical tradition, and versions of it appear in medical records across many cultures. The traditional idea has stayed the same for centuries: drawing blood flow into tight or congested tissue is intended to help it soften.
At the clinic, cupping usually works alongside acupuncture within the same session. Cups may rest still over a point for around 15 minutes, or glide across oiled skin as sliding cupping, which gives a deep stretch and massage to the muscle and fascia beneath.
Unlike massage, which presses down into the muscle, cupping lifts the tissue instead. That lifting pressure feels quite different from ordinary kneading.
The round marks that can follow treatment show that blood flow has entered the area. They are painless and usually fade within a week.
Patients most often book cupping for tight shoulders, stiff backs and general muscle tension, particularly tension built up through desk work, training or repetitive strain. Pain is not always felt where it starts; Ahil’s article on the link between where it hurts and where the pain begins explains how connected the body’s tissue really is.
Most people describe the sensation as a firm, pleasant pull rather than pain, and the pressure is adjusted to your comfort throughout. Cupping is usually finished within your normal appointment, leaving time for acupuncture or other therapies in the same visit.
Further reading: What is cupping and those round marks?, Cupping aftercare: what to wear, showering and exercise, Cupping for desk workers and Cupping, gua sha or moxibustion compared.
Cupping uses specially designed cups placed on trigger points or pressure points. The cups provide negative pressure, lifting the tissue and drawing blood flow into the area. It is used to ease muscle tension.
Cupping draws blood flow into the area, and from a Chinese medicine point of view is used to clear stagnation. It is commonly used for tight, sore muscles across the back, neck and shoulders.
Round marks can appear where the cups sat. They are a sign that blood flow has entered the area, are painless, and usually subside over a week or so.
Most people describe the sensation as a firm, pleasant pull rather than pain. Many find it deeply relaxing, and the pressure is always adjusted to your comfort.
Yes. Cupping is often used alongside acupuncture within the same session, as part of one coordinated treatment plan.
Acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and naturopathy with Ahil Ganesan in Alexandria, Sydney. Registered practitioner, health fund rebates claimable on eligible services.
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