Technique of cupping therapy
There are multiple techniques of cupping therapy. in dry cupping technique, the method consists of one step technique, while in wet cupping the method consists of two steps. First, skin incisions then the therapist puts the hot cup on the patient’s skin.
In the Arabic culture, Al-Hijama, which is a wet cupping therapy, it consists of three steps technique. First a hot cup is applied to patient’s skin, then the therapist makes small incisions in the skin, and finally, the therapist returns the hot cup again. After wet cupping session, some therapists apply honey to the treated area of skin to enhance healing.
The optimum time for the cupping therapy session ranges from five to ten minutes, and skin marks following the session usually fades in ten days. In a study by Moura CC et al., they founded that post cupping residual marks disappear after one week of cupping therapy.
The negative pressure in the cup is usually achieved by heating the cup to create a suction power. Other methods include manual and automatic pumping techniques. In China, the most common method used is by fire.
In some cultures, the timing of cupping therapy may affect the results. Therapists who do wet cupping therapy, or Al-Hijama prefers specific days on the lunar months to perform the procedure. El-Shanshory M et al. reported in their study that therapists prefer to perform Al-Hijama on specific days of the lunar month, especially days 17, 18, 19, and 20 of the lunar months.
Those days are preferred due to the possible effects of the moon phases on the cardiovascular functions of the human body. a study by Chakvaborty U et al. founded that, the gravitational pull of the moon on earth is changing throughout the phases of the lunar months. This gravitational power may pose specific effects on the fluid dynamics in the human body. these effects reach its peak on the third quarter of the lunar months.
Needle cupping is a type of cupping therapy, in which a needle is inserted in a stress site on patient’s skin first, followed by placing the cup over the inserted needle.
Application sites
Cupping therapy can be done on various spots of the body. Most common used sites are back, chest, and abdomen of the patients. Other sites include:
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- The back of patient’s neck
- At the interscapular region
- Around carotid bones
- Behind the ears
- Middle of the head
- At the thigh and knee joints
- Ankle, shoulder, and wrist joints
