Edmonton Cupping Therapy

Cure physiotherapists are your Edmonton cupping therapy specialists. A cupping session can relieve your pain.

To find out more about how cupping therapy may benefit you, click here to book an appointment at Cure today. 

It has been around for centuries. While the popularity of cupping physiotherapy has significantly increased in the past recent years, it isn’t a new practice.  The ancient Chinese, Egyptian, and Middle Eastern cultures used cupping.

Cupping is an ancient form of alternative medicine that is performed by placing cups on the skin, to create suction.

Today, it is used as a way to relieve pain, promote relaxation, enhance blood flow, and ease inflammation.

Cupping physiotherapy is a fairly intricate process.

Our Edmonton cupping therapy physiotherapist will begin by placing a flammable substance (such as alcohol or herbs) into the cup and setting it on fire.

The physiotherapist will place the cup upside down on your skin after the fire subsides. As the air in the cup begins to cool, it creates a vacuum, causing the skin to rise and blood vessels to expand.

In some more modern practices, rubber pumps will be used instead of fire to create the vacuum, and silicone cups are sometimes used to create a massage effect.

Cupping can sometimes be described as a “tissue distraction release” technique. The cups glide across different areas of the body to lift and separate tissue during the cupping process.

This works to enhance the release of the interfaces between the neural tissues, fascia, skin, ligaments, muscles, and tendons. It relaxes muscles, releases trigger points, improves lymphatic flow, increases local circulation, and releases scar tissue adhesion.

Evidence supports cupping as an effective treatment method for several conditions, such as chronic neck pain, low back pain, and fibromyalgia.

There are three forms of cupping techniques: longitudinal, cross fiber, and circular. Longitudinal is the most common form. Our physiotherapist will glide the cup longitudinally across muscle fibers during this treatment.

Cross fiber will be used when it is believed that the tissue is scarred. Circular is used at the end of the session. This ensures that all areas were covered.

It is no secret that cupping is a common and popular practice among athletes. In fact, several athletes from the 2016 Rio Olympics used cupping.

A running patient with over a year history of the iliotibial band (ITB) pain reported instant relief following a three-minute session of cupping. We repeated the technique a week later. Following only two cupping sessions, he was symptom-free and returned to his usual running routine.

While there are some apprehensions about cupping, there is real science behind it. The suction within the cups creates negative pressure, which helps to increase hydration and blood flow to body tissues, ease up adhesions, and eliminate excess fluids.

It is a versatile treatment. This treatment is effective if you need deep tissue massage or lymphatic drainage.

We will not perform cupping therapy on skin with wounds, infection, burns, or active inflammation.

It can sometimes create bruises on the skin that can last up to two weeks. Bruises typically resolve themselves with time and should not be of concern.

If you are in Edmonton, AB, and have an injury or health condition that is limiting you from living your life the way you want, start with requesting an appointment with Cure Physiotherapy Edmonton.

There are several benefits to cupping therapy. It can boost your skin health, help with respiratory issues, and even improve digestion. It can speed up the recovery time of certain injuries and ailments. In addition, it will reduce symptoms.

By scheduling an appointment with Cure, you will meet with one of our licensed Edmonton, AB physiotherapists to figure out if cupping is right for you!