Cupping is good, but do you know its principle?

Cupping is a health-preserving method that is very popular among female friends. Because it can detoxify and beautify the skin, many women do it in their spare time. But although cupping is effective, do you know its principle?

1. The role of cupping therapy:

"Cupping" is the common name for cupping therapy among the people. It is mainly used to treat rheumatic pain, old cold legs, muscle strain in the waist and back, lumbar disc herniation, rheumatic "arthralgia" and sore muscles and bones, colds, headaches, abdominal pain and asthma caused by colds and typhoid fever. When people reach middle age, muscle and bone pains are very common. According to Chinese medicine, this is mostly due to the invasion of wind, cold and dampness and their retention in the bones and joints. In addition, after middle age, the body's qi gradually declines, blood circulation slows down, and blood is not flowing smoothly, resulting in various symptoms. Because cupping can promote qi and blood circulation, dispel wind and cold, reduce swelling and relieve pain, it can slowly absorb moisture from the lesion while promoting local blood circulation, achieving the purpose of dredging meridians, relieving pain and restoring function. Cupping is used on acupuncture points on the human body to treat headaches, dizziness, swollen eyes, coughs, asthma, abdominal pain and other diseases.

2. The principle of cupping

When the human body is attacked by wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, fire, poison, external trauma or internal emotional injury, it can lead to organ dysfunction and produce pathological products, such as blood stasis, qi stagnation, phlegm, food stagnation, turbid water, evil fire, etc. These pathological products are in turn pathogenic factors. Chinese medicine believes that cupping is to open the capillaries and sweat pores through the negative pressure in the cup, so that the local contraction and squeeze interaction will occur, the pores will be sucked open and the skin will be congested. Through physical stimulation and negative pressure, the capillaries will be artificially ruptured and cause congestion, so that the pathological products in the body are discharged from the skin pores, so as to expel cold and dampness, dredge the meridians, remove stagnation, promote qi and blood circulation, reduce swelling and relieve pain, remove toxins and reduce heat, so as to adjust the balance of yin and yang in the human body, relieve fatigue, and enhance physical fitness, so that the meridians and qi and blood can be dredged, the repair function of human cells and the absorption function of necrotic cells can be mobilized, which can promote blood circulation and stimulate essence.

Regulate Qi and blood to improve and regulate the body's immunity and achieve the purpose of preventing and treating diseases.

Definition of cupping marks and colors:

1. If the cupping mark is dark red, it means high blood lipids, blood pressure, or warm and hot evil.

2. The cupping mark is slightly white and not warm to the touch. It is mostly caused by cold meridians and blood deficiency, with symptoms of fatigue and dull complexion.

3. If there is water vapor and bubbles on the inner wall of the tank, it means that there is moisture in that part, which is related to being exposed to moisture for a long time or wearing damp clothes.

4. The cupping marks are purple and accompanied by plaques, which is generally caused by cold and blood stasis, and wind and cold flowing into the subcutaneous meridians.

5. The cupping mark is bright red, which generally indicates Yin deficiency, Qi and blood deficiency, or imbalance of Qi and blood Yin and Yang.

6. The cupping marks are scattered purple dots with varying depths, indicating qi stagnation, blood stasis and menstrual irregularities.

7. There is no change in skin color after the cupping mark, and the cupping mark is not warm to the touch, which mostly indicates that the patient has deficiency-cold syndrome and the skin surface cannot be nourished due to the stagnation of Qi and blood. (White and colorless usually indicates that the local middle and deep nervous systems are not good).

8. The cupping marks are purple and dark, which generally indicates insufficient blood supply, menstrual disorder, and blood stasis.

9. The appearance of blisters and water droplets on the cupping marks indicates that the patient has excessive dampness in the body or has become ill due to dampness, or it may be inflammatory edema. If the blisters are blood red or blackish red after cupping, it is a pathological reaction of long-term illness, dampness and blood stasis, which is a period reversal.

10. The cupping marks appear dark red, purple-black or red sha, and are slightly painful to the touch. Symptoms include fever and dizziness, indicating that the patient has excessive heat and toxic Yang that damages Yin, resulting in Yin-blood deficiency.

11. If the cupping marks appear purple or purple-black accompanied by red sha ecchymosis and fever, it indicates that the patient has blood stasis. This is due to excessive yang damaging yin, stagnation of liver qi involving abnormal spleen blood reception, and you can see that all touched muscles are painful.

12. If the cupping marks appear slightly itchy or cracks appear on the skin, it usually indicates that the patient is suffering from dampness or wind evil entering the surface of the body.

13. Common cupping marks include flushing, purple-red or purple-black bruises, and small purple-red rashes. It is often accompanied by varying degrees of heat, pain and coolness. These changes in the skin are part of the therapeutic effect of cupping therapy and can last from one to several days.

14. For normal and healthy people, the cup will be slightly red and white, slightly warm to the touch, and will not cause much pain on the skin.

3. Cupping method:

1. Treatment based on syndrome differentiation: Cupping does not require very accurate acupoint positioning like acupuncture. It is mainly a matter of combining points, lines and surfaces. Through the TCM syndrome differentiation of deficiency, excess, cold and heat, some parts where meridians pass or where qi gather are selected. Headache treatment is generally combined with acupoint treatment. At this time, it is necessary to distinguish the symptoms and cupping on the temples and the Dazhui, Fengfu and Taodao points of the Governor Vessel. It is mainly suitable for exogenous wind-cold headaches; for migraine accompanied by dizziness, tinnitus, Fengchi, Tianchuang and Jianzhongshu can be selected; for hypertensive headaches, Shuangtaiyang, Anmian, blood pressure points, Yamen and Yintang can be selected; for those with difficulty in neck movement, Xinshe, Jianzhongshu, Jianwaishu plus Fengchi and Bailao can be used; for those with upper limb symptoms, add Jingbi, Jianzhen, Tianzong, Jianhou, Jiaojian, Jianliao and Jugu.

2. How many cupping cups are suitable? Start with a small amount and then increase it. For the first cupping, generally control the amount of cupping cups in each batch.

3-5, and gradually increase the number after you get used to it, up to 20-30 at a time.

3. The size of the can diameter: It varies depending on the body part. For example, large-diameter cans can be used for the back, legs and abdomen, while small-diameter cans can be used for other small parts. The elderly and infirm should use medium or small sized cans.

4. Do not cupping the same part every day, and do not cupping again until the cupping scars have subsided.

5. The number of cupping treatments per day depends on the condition of the disease, and can be up to three times a day.

6. The distance between the tanks can be any as long as they can fit.

7. When cupping the whole body, start from the upper part of the body and work from top to bottom.

8. When the suction force during cupping is too strong (feels unbearable), you can press the skin over the edge of one side of the cup to let a little air into the cup.

9. Cupping therapy: Cupping means that after the cup is buckled on the skin, use one or two hands to hold the cup, press down slightly to push out, and lift up when pulling back, pushing and pulling the cup body to move on the patient's skin. It can move in one direction or back and forth. This way multiple areas are treated. When cupping, you should pay attention to applying some lubricant on the area to be cupped and the mouth of the cup, such as glycerin, vaseline oil, scraping oil, etc., to prevent the skin from being pulled during cupping.

10. Key points for removing the cupping: Tilt the bamboo cup to the side with one hand, and press the skin with the fingertips of the other hand to allow air to enter the cup through the gap to separate the cup from the skin, and then slowly remove the cup (do not rotate the cup body or pull it forcefully when removing the cup). If your skin becomes itchy when removing the cupping cup, it is a normal detoxification phenomenon. Be careful not to scratch the skin to avoid infection.

11. Cupping time: The cupping time should be determined according to age, physical condition, gender and the severity of the disease. Generally, the cupping time is 10 to 15 minutes. Generally, the cupping time should be shorter for mild diseases or sensory disorders (such as numbness of the lower limbs). For patients with severe illness, long course of illness, deep lesions and severe pain, the cupping time can be slightly longer and the adsorption force can be slightly greater.

12. Notes:

1) When cupping, the room temperature must be maintained above 20°C. It is best to place it in a sunny place sheltered from the wind.

2) Cupping therapy should be used with caution when you are too full, too hungry, too thirsty, or drunk. It is not advisable to operate on a full or empty stomach; you should have a bowel movement first when you wake up;

3) The patient should lie in the prone position to fully expose the surgical site.

4) The patient's reaction should be closely observed during cupping. If symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, pale face, cold sweat, cold limbs, or even low blood pressure and difficulty breathing occur, the cup should be removed in time, and the patient should be laid flat in supine position with the upper body elevated. For mild cases, a small amount of warm water can be given, and for severe cases, acupuncture should be inserted into Zhong and Hegu points. If necessary, nikethamide 0.5g each time can be injected intramuscularly or intravenously; or caffeine 2ml can be injected intramuscularly.

5) Be careful not to fall asleep when cupping yourself, so as to avoid skin ulcers caused by leaving the cup on for a long time.

6) If blisters appear due to cupping for too long or too strong suction, small blisters do not need to be treated. Just apply sterile gauze to prevent them from being scratched. It can be coated with gentian violet and covered with gauze for an irregular period of time. If the blister is large, you can use a syringe to extract the liquid inside the blister and then fix it with rivanol gauze. When the blisters are large, use a sterilized needle to drain the water, apply ointment or medicine, or wrap them with sterilized gauze to prevent infection.

6) When cupping, choose an appropriate body position and areas with plump muscles. It is not easy to use if the body position is incorrect, the body moves, the bones are uneven, or the areas have a lot of hair.