Cupping is another method of Chinese medicine that dates back to the early fourth century. It has recently been revived in its popularity by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston donning circular marks temporarily left on their skin from the suction of the cups.
Cupping therapy not only stimulates the flow of Qi and Blood throughout the body by breaking up the stagnations in the channels, but it also draws out toxic buildup in the muscles. It’s the release of the stagnation and of the toxic buildup that alleviate pain and tension felt in the muscles.
The bruising that occurs as a result of a cupping session is directly related to the amount of toxins being pulled out of the muscles. The more toxins released from the muscles, the darker the bruise. The darker the bruise, the longer it takes for the bruise to completely go away. A bruise that turns purple (which is on the darker side) will take roughly 2 weeks to completely go away. The very first week the color of the bruise will fade significantly. In that second week the bruise will resemble that of a shadow of its original coloring and it could take another week for that shadow to completely go away. Cup marks that turn pink/red will take about a week or less to completely go away. The bruising that occurs is superficial skin bruising and not deep muscle bruising and is, therefore, relatively painless.
There are many different forms of cupping. Fire cupping consists of using heat to create the suction force required to break up the stagnation and pull out the toxins from the muscles. Rather than using fire to create the suction, dry cupping uses a suction pump.