Living Well with Troy Thompson: Cupping Therapy

(41NBC/WMGT) — Today Troy Thompson and Dr. Justine Richman discussed cupping and its potential benefits for physical health.

Cupping is a form of manual therapy where is a cup is placed on the body and air is suctioned out of the cup to increase blood flow and the extensibility for the tissue underneath the affected area. The traditional Chinese method of cupping uses fire to create suction while the western clinically approved version uses plastic cups and a pump to generate the suction.

The benefits of cupping are to help loosen tissue that may be too tight or just needs more blood flowing to it. It can be painful but for the most part it’ll feel like a strong pull in the treated area and only lasts for a very short amount of time.