Cupping

Cupping is best described as an alternative form of soft tissue mobilization. Cupping offers our tissues a different type of force than is typically applied to them. When you have a massage for example, the therapist is pushing down or across the skins’ surface thus exhibiting a compressive or translatory force to the tissues. With cupping, the forces on the tissues are up and away from the body thus producing a decompressive force. This is why cupping can be so effective. Your tissues are always getting pushed, pulled or compressed through movement and just from the weight of gravity alone. With cupping, you are getting a type of force that the tissues hardly ever get which can equal RELIEF! The cups can be left in place (static cupping) for a specified time or movement can be added, which we call dynamic cupping. With dynamic cupping, the cups can be moved around on the skin or your therapist can direct you to move in specific ways while the cups are on making this a very versatile modality when paired with other types of treatments.