Many who are curious about cupping have heard about it and may wonder whether or not it causes pain, but rest assured, it doesn't!

Before your cupping session, it will likely be necessary to provide your health history. After treatment with cupping, red to purple circular marks may appear on your skin which are not bruises but result from this therapy.

It’s Not Painful

Cupping Melbourne should not be painful; an experienced practitioner uses gentle pressure for optimal results, and there are various techniques--"dry" cupping leaves no marks while "wet" cupping uses scalpels to make light cuts into the skin in order to draw blood into its cups and draw it up by sucking.

Cupping does not cause pain in the areas in which it is applied; rather, it serves as pressure point therapy rather than forceful massage. Pourziaee states that any red circles that appear after cupping sessions are actually indicative of blood moving around stagnant fluids that have come to the surface and brought up to the surface as part of this therapy process.

Darker marks indicate more stagnant blood and toxins have been released during treatment, according to Dr. Niruvanantham. Once released, these toxins will travel through your bloodstream and eventually flushed from your system, as noted.

Cupping can leave you feeling tired and flu-like, which is perfectly normal; your body is expending all those toxins it just released! For optimal results, plan a light workout followed by plenty of rest to complete this detoxification process.

It’s Relaxing

Many people turn to yoga, massage and even eating an ice cream cone in order to ease stress. Although these methods are all excellent ways of relieving tension in muscles and tissues, recent research is exploring whether cupping may also provide relief.

Cupping is a form of deep tissue massage which utilizes suction from cups on the skin to lift fascia and muscles away from their attachment to bones, relieving tension while simultaneously stimulating blood flow and lymphatic systems to flush away toxins.

Cupping leaves red circles on your skin that aren't bruises; rather they're signs that stagnant fluids have been dislodged from deep within and will now move through your lymphatic system to be naturally eliminated - these marks should dissipate over time.

Cupping may cause mild headaches that will subside quickly with water intake and an avoidance of caffeine following your cupping session. Drinking plenty of water and forgoing caffeine consumption after this type of therapy session should help minimize their severity.

It’s Effective

Cupping therapy provides relief by loosening and lifting muscle, connective tissue, and lymph fluid to loosen and lift. Furthermore, cupping can improve circulation, remove toxins, and promote cell turnover for increased cell renewal.

Professional cupping practitioners offer both dry and wet cupping treatments. When performing wet cupping, they may place a cup with flammable substances like herbs or alcohol inside it and light it before placing it onto your skin for cupping to take effect.

Cupping marks tend to fade quickly after use and many patients report feeling better afterwards, according to Shestopal.

Be sure to drink lots of water prior and following each cupping session, to help flush toxins from your tissues and relieve pressure points. Be sure to notify your practitioner if you have any health conditions that would make cupping inappropriate, such as high blood pressure or varicose veins; she may request you complete a form listing them all.

It’s Safe

Cupping therapy is generally safe for patients of all ages as long as there are no contraindications, using suction to stretch and pull skin and soft tissue to release areas of adhesion and restriction, increase circulation, drain lymph fluid and potentially leave red, blue and purple marks lasting from hours to several days after each cupping session.

Mind Body Green's article states that cupping stimulates the body's immune response by encouraging blood to the treatment area, dilatation and rupture of capillaries (hence leaving red marks), stimulating urinary system excretion of excess urea.

Drink plenty of water following cupping therapy sessions as your body will have just been exposed to many toxins. Check out this Optimal Body podcast where physical therapist Chris Daprato, DPT discusses his experiences with cupping therapy and why it might be worth trying it for yourself.