Food for your soul

chinese cupping therapy

As i was walking along in Waterloo Street, i saw one interesting sight on Chinese Cupping Therapy.

I asked myself what's good about this althrough it look yucky that leave the patches on your body.

It reminded me of the day when i sprained my ankle (second time) that it hurt very badly. I could not walk so my father decided to bring me to a chinese doctor.

It could easily make my heart go weak...The chinese doctor told me that it looked bad so he need to do suction cupping on my ankle. I looked at him in bewilderment and thought that it was just a massage.

It turned out that he used needles to poke on my ankle and leave few holes. Then he used suction cupping to suck away the blood. Arghhh it nearly made me scream in fear...

He said that it will help to regulate the blood flow and to reduce the clot. My ankle would not be swollen like lump.

I nearly cried because of the suction cupping that suck away my blood. Soon after the blood was dried, he banadged my ankle with strong smelly chinese paste.

I hopped all the way home with less pain. My first sprain was worse that i could not hardly walked. It was when i was in Primary 6.

At Waterloo Street, I was curious and asked myself why many old men goes for the Chinese Cupping Therapy.

Here are little information i had read up.

Cupping is a practice of Chinese medicine recommended primarily for treating bronchial congestion, arthritis, and pain. It is also promoted to ease depression and reduce swelling. It can be used to soothe coughs, treat common colds, relieve tension and pain in the body, treat sports injuries, lower back pain, stress and menstrual problems.

Cupping is supposed to realign and balance the flow of vital energy or life force called qi (or chi, pronounced “chee”). In the presence of illness or injury proponents say, the qi is disturbed and there may be too much or too little at certain points. The practitioner diagnoses any imbalances in the qi and attempts to restore them. Although not widely used as an alternative method of treatment for cancer, some practitioners may use it to rebalance energy in the body that has been blocked by certain tumors.

There are few types of cupping therapies but the 2 types of cupping therapies are commonly used.

Traditional cupping, with use of heated cups, also has some similarity to moxibustion therapy. Heating of the cups was the method used to obtain suction: the hot air in the cups has a low density and, as the cups cool with the opening sealed by the skin, the pressure within the cups declines, sucking the skin into it. In this case, the cups are hot and have a stimulating effect something like that of burning moxa wool.

Moxibustion therapy has been used throughout Asia for thousands of years. Moxibustion, uses the common herb Aiye, usually in combination with other herbs. The herbal compound is burned over certain acupuncture points or areas of the body. The dried mugwort leaves are rolled into a cigar-like stick or used loose over protected skin to create warmth and facilitate healing.

Suction Cupping Therapy is a suction gun that used to create a negative air pressure vacumn in the cups placed on the skin. This negative suction is able to release rigid soft tissues and muscles and bring blood flow to stagnant skin. When the cup is left in place on the skin for a few minutes, the skin will turn red, indicating that circulation has been brought to the surface.

Benefits

The skin is our largest organ, containing fluid, blood, blood vessels, connective tissue, muscle and rich in nerve supplies. By creating suction, cupping is used to drain excess fluids and toxins, loosen adhesions and lift connective tissue, and bring blood flow to stagnant muscles and skin. Cupping should generally improve blood and Qi flow in any ‘congested’ area of the body where it is used.

Common disorders treated by cupping therapy:

- Abdominal pain
- Anaemia
- Asthma
- Atrophy syndrome
- Back pain
- Common cold and influenza
- Constipation
- Cough
- Hypertension
- Muscular and joint pain
- Skin complaints
- Varicose and broken veins

posted by citrusby @ 5/23/2006 05:56:00 PM