Cupping is one of the oldest treatments known to man. It is a type of alternative medicine that has been used for centuries. Cupping involves removing corrupted blood from the body through superficial incisions. Special cups made of glass, bamboo, or porcelain are placed over these incisions. These cups are suctioned out using pressure, combustion, or other means, using a suitable instrument or modern devices that replace suction.
It has been used by various civilizations throughout history. It was known since ancient times. The Babylonians, the Pharaohs, and the Chinese were known for it. Their artifacts and carved images indicate that they used cupping to treat specific diseases. Previously, they used metal cups and bull horns for this purpose, emptying them of air after placing them on the skin by suction. Later, glass cups were used, which they removed by burning a piece of cotton or wool inside the cup.
The Greeks and Romans used cupping as part of natural medicine. Hippocrates and Galen wrote about it.
Arabs and Muslims: Cupping became widespread in the Islamic era, and hadiths from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) encourage its use.
Benefits of cupping
Cupping has tangible benefits in treating many diseases, both past and present, including:
Blood pressure
It stimulates blood circulation, stimulates blood flow, and reduces stagnation, which helps improve blood circulation throughout the body and reduces pressure on blood vessels.
It reduces stress and anxiety, which are among the most important causes of high blood pressure. It helps with relaxation and stress relief, which positively impacts blood pressure.
Some heart diseases such as myocarditis
It works to detoxify the blood: Wet cupping removes contaminated blood and harmful substances, improving blood quality and easing the burden on the heart.
Headache and eye pain
It improves blood flow and stimulates circulation in the head and neck, helping deliver oxygen and nutrients to the brain and relieving congestion.
It reduces muscle tension that causes headaches, resulting from muscle tension in the neck and shoulders. It helps relax these muscles and regulate the sympathetic nervous system, which helps calm the body and reduce nerve signals associated with pain.
Wet cupping releases stagnant blood and harmful substances, relieving internal pressure that can cause headaches.
It relieves eye headaches caused by pressure around the eyes due to general tension and improves blood circulation around the eyes. Cupping is applied to specific points, such as behind the ears or at the top of the neck, to improve blood flow to the eye area.
Reducing sinus symptoms: If eye headaches are caused by sinus congestion, cupping helps drain fluids and relieve pressure.
Neck and abdominal pain
Cupping stimulates blood flow to the neck muscles, helping relieve stiffness and muscle tension and reduce inflammation in the joints and surrounding tissues, especially in conditions such as spondylosis or neuritis.
Application points: Cups are typically placed on the shoulders, upper back, and back of the neck, areas where tension accumulates.
Relieves Abdominal Pain: It stimulates the nerves associated with the digestive system, helping to improve digestion, reduce bloating, and relieve cramps.
Cupping is used to relieve abdominal muscle spasms, especially those caused by irritable bowel syndrome or menstrual cramps.
Application points: The cups are placed on the lower abdomen or on the back behind the stomach area, depending on the type and source of the pain.
Rheumatic muscle and joint pain
It can be effective in relieving pain resulting from arthritis or stiff neck and shoulder pain, and has no side effects. It is applied to areas where pain is present, such as the joints, lower back, or muscles between the shoulder and neck. This helps increase blood flow to these areas, stimulating circulation and facilitating muscle or joint movement.
Chest and trachea diseases
Relieves chest allergies and asthma: Cupping is used on the back behind the lungs. It helps expel lung pathogens. The mechanism for relieving asthma symptoms is unclear, but it improves lung function.
Circulatory diseases
Relieves lethargy and persistent fatigue: Cupping primarily stimulates blood circulation and rids the blood of accumulated heavy metals and toxins. It also helps relieve anxiety and eliminate negative energy. For this reason, cupping is considered an effective treatment for chronic fatigue due to its benefits in improving energy levels in the body.
Maintaining Skin Health
Cupping helps blood flow to the surface layers of the skin, improving its texture and nourishment, and stimulating the collagen layer, which helps to reduce fine lines and wrinkles.
Strengthening the Body's Immune System
Cupping can positively impact bodily functions. It removes iron from old cells, allowing them to regenerate. It also acts as an anti-inflammatory and helps release histamine, which increases the reception of proteins and white blood cells, strengthening the body's immune system.
Stress and anxiety
It's a great way to relax: Cupping acts as a deep massage of the body's tissues, helping to relax muscles and relieve anxiety.
Regulating the Nervous System
Cupping is believed to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, which helps dilate blood vessels and lower blood pressure.
When do you know you need cupping?
By experiencing symptoms such as fatigue, lethargy, excessive sleep, aching shoulders and back, headaches, and high blood pressure. These are all symptoms of increased blood toxins. This is due to the contamination of food, air, and water with various toxins, which may cause bodily dysfunction and serious problems and diseases such as cancer, kidney failure, sexual dysfunction, and numbness in the extremities.
Types of Cupping
There are two different types of cupping (dry and wet cupping).
Dry Cupping
Dry cupping is performed by placing a cup on the skin and creating a vacuum to apply suction, which increases blood flow to the area. This can be done either by using a heated cup that creates a vacuum when cooled, or by a simpler system that includes a cup and a hand pump. The cups remain on the skin for five to ten minutes, then are gently removed. A scalpel is used to make small incisions through which the flowing blood is drawn. It is commonly used in the treatment of chronic cases of back and neck pain. And osteoporosis as well.
Wet Cupping
It differs from dry cupping only in that the incisions on the skin are made before the cups are placed to facilitate blood draw. Fine, superficial incisions are made at specific points on the back and neck, and the cups are placed. Heated or connected to a suction machine over wounds, wet cupping helps purify the blood and remove heavy metals from the body.
Conditions for Correct Cupping
Before beginning cupping, several key considerations must be taken into account. The cupping process and its effectiveness may be affected by certain unforeseen factors. Among the conditions that a person considering cupping should meet are:
1. Cupping Time in the Sunnah: Many hadiths have been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the timing of cupping. Among the days the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) preferred for cupping are the seventeenth, nineteenth, and twenty-first of the lunar month, and Mondays and Thursdays of the week. He also forbade cupping on Saturdays and Sundays.
2. Bathing Before Cupping: Cupping should be performed on clean skin, as the outer layer of the skin is susceptible to germs that can result from sebum secretions. Germs are naturally present on the surface of the skin, but when the skin is injured or pricked, these germs may enter and cause inflammation. Furthermore, bathing after cupping is not possible for several days, so it is preferable to bathe before cupping.
3. Absence of blood disorders that cause bleeding: Before considering cupping, it is important to ensure the patient's health. Some patients are at risk for bleeding disorders that are difficult to stop, such as those with diabetes or hereditary blood disorders like hemophilia. Cupping involves drawing blood through incisions on the skin's surface.
4. Not having donated blood recently: It is important to ensure that the patient who wishes to undergo cupping has not donated blood for at least a month, to prevent the risk of anemia resulting from multiple, close blood draws.
5. The patient must stop taking blood thinners: Many people take blood thinners after the age of forty, which makes it difficult to stop bleeding during cupping. For this reason, it is recommended to stop taking blood thinners for at least three days before cupping.
Conditions for Cupping for Men
Fasting is preferable before cupping: Food affects blood circulation, and the patient may feel nauseous. Avoid eating for 4 hours before cupping to alleviate this condition and maintain active blood circulation.
Avoid cupping for muscle injuries or fractures: Cupping relies on deep suction. It should be avoided if the patient has any muscle injuries, as it will worsen the condition. Also, avoid using it on areas with bone fractures.
Avoid exercise: Before starting cupping, avoid any physical activity or strenuous exertion. Exercise will stimulate blood circulation, which will help alleviate low blood pressure and dizziness during cupping.
Avoid sexual intercourse: Sexual intercourse is considered a rather strenuous physical activity, so it should be avoided before cupping, as it may cause fatigue during cupping, especially for men.
Cupping Conditions for Women
Avoid cupping during menstruation: Many hormonal and physiological disturbances occur in women during their menstrual cycle, in addition to low blood pressure. For this reason, cupping should be avoided during menstruation.
Avoid cupping during pregnancy: Cupping during pregnancy may increase the risk of anemia, as well as the removal of a number of nutrients from the pregnant woman's blood that could benefit the fetus. This can also lead to increased feelings of fatigue and exhaustion. And an inability to continue cupping.
Excessive obesity or underweight: Excessive weight loss is a sign of malnutrition and poor circulation. Therefore, cupping should not be performed on people who are experiencing weight loss. The same applies to morbid obesity, as the thick layer of fat accumulated under the skin hinders the function of cupping and makes it difficult for the cups to draw blood to the subcutaneous layer.
Avoid placing cupping cups on open wounds: Cupping can naturally cause some damage to the outer layer of skin, and applying it to skin with wounds or pimples increases the risk of surface inflammation.
Prohibited for women with breast cancer: If a woman has breast cancer, she should avoid cupping, especially if she is receiving chemotherapy, which affects blood-clotting factors. Cupping may also cause the disease to spread further, especially if it is in its advanced stages.
Advice after Cupping (Recommendation)
During cupping, a person is exposed to a number of processes, the most important of which are the wounds made at the cupping sites. We will mention some tips for healing these wounds quickly and preventing bacterial infection.
Avoid exposure to high or low temperatures: After cupping, be careful not to expose yourself to high temperatures or sun exposure, as this will increase skin irritation, in addition to pain and burning. Exposure to low temperatures will cause constriction of the capillaries in the skin layer, which also causes severe pain in the wound area.
Avoid consuming caffeine after cupping: Caffeine constricts blood vessels, which may affect the function of cupping and reduce its benefits. For this reason, it is preferable to avoid consuming caffeine for 48 hours after cupping.
Avoid acidic materials: Acidic environments are known to increase skin irritation and promote bacterial growth. Therefore, avoid applying acidic and perfumed products for 24 hours after cupping.
Continuously disinfect wounds: Immediately after cupping, the resulting wounds should be sterilized with alcohol. This process should be repeated for several days to prevent bacterial contamination of the skin's surface.
Apply anti-inflammatory ointments: Anti-inflammatory ointments should be applied three times daily after cupping to speed wound healing and prevent bacterial infections that may occur in open wounds after cupping.
Is cupping dangerous or harmful?
Of course, every action has its own reactions and side effects, which I will list below.
Bacterial infection: Some bacterial infections may occur after cupping due to contamination of the instruments or inadequate care of the lesions resulting from the cupping procedure.
Bruising: Bruising at the cupping site is normal, and these bruises disappear naturally 10 days after the cupping procedure.
Pain at the wound site: Some people may feel pain at the cupping site due to the negative pressure it creates or the scratches made by the cupping practitioner. These symptoms disappear within a week of the cupping procedure.
Dizziness during cupping: People who most commonly experience dizziness during cupping are those with low blood pressure or anemia. During cupping, blood is pumped to the treatment site in large quantities, which can cause some people to feel dizzy.
Skin burns: One method of cupping involves using high temperatures to apply negative pressure to create suction. This can cause minor burns in the cupping area, which heal within a few days after the procedure.
Cupping is not recommended for
Caution for patients with cardiovascular disease: The person performing cupping must obtain a detailed medical history from the person wishing to have it performed. Although cupping is used to prevent cardiovascular disease and blood clots by purifying the blood, caution must be exercised when performing it on these patients, especially those who regularly take medications. A center that follows all safety regulations should be chosen if the patient experiences complications during cupping.
Avoid cupping if receiving chemotherapy for cancer treatment: Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy should avoid cupping, as their blood clotting is irregular and they may experience prolonged or severe bleeding during the cupping procedure.
Conclusion
Therefore, cupping has a preventative role in stimulating blood circulation, restoring balance to the body's components, and strengthening and activating the body's systems.
