CUPPING

When pain is felt, it is due to a lack of oxygen to the cells regardless of the cause or type of pain. When the blood and lymph circulation is sluggish or compromised in an area or cannot be spread to the cells waste by-products start to clog up the system. The Chinese call this "blood poison" or SA. Diagnostically, pain and lowered range of motion is a sign of SA as well as blanching when the flesh is pressed. If SA is suspected, then either cupping or Gwa SA is indicated. Both or these are usually carried out on the back, with the patient prone or sitting, leaning forward. Cupping is favored by practitioners (who also use Gwa SA) because it is a "deeper" treatment and can cover a large area. Gwa SA has been a folk treatment for thousands of years and has been called "coining" in this country.

Cupping Technique

There are various types of cups -- rubber, bamboo, plastic, etc. We use the glass kind exclusively because they seem to work well and hold up better. There are two types of cups here as well -- traditional and vacuum. Traditional cups are the ones that need some kind of fire to create a vacuum while the vacuum cups (a newer type) have a pump so that no fire is needed. To take every precaution possible, we use the pump kind. This kind of suction is more controllable.

There are about four sizes of cups. Select the right size for the anatomical area you wish to cup -- small for the neck, etc. The small sizes seem to get better suction and therefore better color especially over SP 10, BL10, BL11 and CV14.

Traditional Cups -- Fire

First, cover the treatment area lightly with Vaseline, Campho-Pheneque or any kind of slippery product. Second cover the edge of the cups because you will want to move the cups around and a slippery surface is needed. Also, this gives a better seal, and makes removing the cups easier.

There are a couple of different ways to create suction by fire. One is to soak a cotton ball in alcohol, hold it with forceps, light it, stick it into the cup for a few seconds, remove, then quickly place the cup on the skin. Another way is to wrap a ¼ Kleenex over a quarter (so it looks like a Hershey's Kiss), place it on the patient, light the tall end, and quickly put the cup over it.

UNLESS YOU HAVE CLINICAL ONE ON ONE EXPERIENCE, I DO NOT RECOMMEND EITHER OF THE FIRE TECHNIQUES.

Traditional Cups -- Pump

Even though the pump type cups are more expensive, the danger of hurting the patient with fire is gone.

Again, put the slippery stuff on the patient, then place the cup on the right spot. Attach the pump to the nipple and pull up, evacuating the air. It is easy to adjust the amount of suction required and if there is any pain, you can quickly reduce the suction by releasing the nipple lock, which will also let you remove the cup completely.

The endpoint is a deep dark purple color of the skin. Sometimes only a light red will appear, sometimes the skin will become almost black. Serous fluid drops will appear at times; they look like hard water drops. This procedure takes about 20 minutes or until the color stabilizes for a few minutes. After every five minutes or so you can carefully slide the cup from one area to another, thereby treating a larger area.

After removing the cups do not cover the area with any products, and carefully wipe the vaseline off. Even though the spots look very painful, they are not. The color will go away in about 24 hours. Some of the dark areas take a few days to disappear. The muscle pain, restricted range of motion should be gone immediately and will get even better as time goes on.

Precautions after cupping / Gwa SA

1. No Alcohol for 24 hours.
2. No smoking marijuana for 48 hours.
3. No cold or iced drinks for 24 hours.
4. No sex for 24 hours.
5. Keep area lightly covered and warm for 24 hours.

The Chinese say the patient is "open" to the outside through these procedures and the patient can quickly get a cold or flu.

GWA SA

The Vaseline or other product and a Chinese soup spoon is all that's needed for this procedure. The soup spoon provides a flat, thick edge that is perfect. I know some people who use polished rocks, and this effective as well. The term, "coining" is derived from using the large coins that non-United States countries mint. U.S. coins are not suitable. Something big you can hold on to and a flat wide edge for comfort is all we need.

At any one time do about ¼ of the back, and only about once a week. In other countries the abdomen and ribs may also be treated, but if the patient has chest or abdomen pain, it must be diagnosed before working on it. This technique is good for muscle pain, neck, shoulders, back and for reducing fever. It is performed the same way for all of these conditions.

Cover the area with the slippery stuff. Take long, gentle strokes with the edge of the spoon. The longer, the better, and do not press hard -- lightly will do it. For example, from the hair line at the next down the shoulder, to the bottom of the shoulder blade. The skin will turn red, especially where you go over bones. This color is what we are trying to achieve. As in cupping, the darker the better. However, stop if there is no color change after a few stokes. There should be no pain. If there is, it is usually because the lubricant has worn off and needs to be replaced (which is after every few strokes).

A feeling of warmth is felt first, then heat as the blood comes to the surface. The surface can become rough and bumpy. The same precautions as cupping are used. The color goes away in a few minutes to 24 hours. Again, there should be no pain, but it will feel "weird".