CHINESE CUPPING

 Chinese cupping is an early traditional form of medicine that involves the use of small glass cups or bamboo jars that cause local congestion while in use. The philosophical principal behind Chinese cupping is the balance between yin and yang energy that enables the body to work properly. Lack of this balance was believed to make one sick. There are two materials that have been widely used in manufacturing the cups which is glass and bamboo. Bamboo was the earliest form of jars used in the practice of acupuncture but were later replaced by the use of the glass cups. In modern day there has been the introduction of plastic cups that have proved to be more effective, easier to handle and safer to be used.

Chinese cupping operates on suction. The act of creating suction is what is called cupping. Suction is the removal of air from the cups used to create a vacuum in them. This vacuum can be achieved by two ways. One of them being swabbing a cotton ball in alcohol and stuffing it into the cupping sets. The cotton ball is then ignited. The cotton ball is then removed and the jar quickly placed on the preferred meridian on the patients’ body. The second method of achieving suction is by the use of glass cups fitted with valves attached to small hand operated pumps. This allows the practitioner to suck out air.