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The hip Chinese healing practice sucks out the pain

by Wendy Smith

Remember a few months ago when Gwyneth Paltrow showed up at an awards ceremony wearing some sort of backless dress which revealed, much to the delight of the paparazzi, what looked like bruises all over her back? Well, after the ceaseless yakking about whether her husband was abusing her or not (not), it turns out that Gwyneth and I have a lot in common. Actually, we probably only have one thing in common: we’ve both been cupped. (I have the marks on my back to prove it although I’ve refrained from wearing a backless dress.)

Cupping is a very old Chinese therapy performed by acupuncturists. It is said to be able to cure anything from back pain to bronchitis. Cupping is used to promote the flow of stagnant blood in the body thus restoring the proper flow of Qi (chee). In Chinese Traditional Medicine, Qi is the vital energy or life force that runs through our bodies and is responsible for health and balance.

I was introduced to cupping by Anita Hill who is a certified acupuncturist with a Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine. I went to see her about auricular therapy (healing through pressure points on the ear), but I decided that would be a later article since cupping seemed more timely (with the Gwyneth thing and all) and not many people are familiar with the procedure.

I found Anita to be extremely professional and thorough. The first thing she did was to assess my health the Chinese way, which means she checked the meridian pulses on my wrists. She correctly assessed that I had something going on with my kidneys and lower back, as my kidney pulse was weak and deficient but still excessive. She said my heart pulse was strong, indicating some anxiety (correct, again). The pulses are located on the outside of the wrists. The left wrist has the heart, liver and kidney pulses and the right wrist has the spleen, lungs and kidney pulses. The pulses are described by 24 words such as wiry, thready, strong, weak, deficient and damp. These words describe the condition of the system to which the pulse belongs in regards to Qi and the balance of the elements (earth, metal, water, wood, air, fire) in that system.

Anita also looked at my tongue (another Chinese assessment tool) and announced that it was a bit purple hinting at blood stagnation, in keeping with the weak kidney pulse, and the tip was a bit red with little white dots pointing to heat in the heart that can manifest as irritability (I did feel a tad grumpy). She decided the cups would be used to pull out the inflammation and pain caused by my kidney infection and to get the stagnant blood in that area flowing again.

Cupping is a fascinating procedure. Even though it leaves a bruise (a hickey actually), it doesn’t hurt at all. I liken it to the feeling of a vacuum cleaner against a palm, but with far less suction. Oil is rubbed on the body where the cup is to be adhered. The oil allows the cup to be adjusted and moved as needed. The cups are small, glass globe cups attached with suction created by heat generated by igniting a cotton ball dipped in alcohol. The fiery cotton ball is waved quickly inside the cup, which is immediately inverted and placed on the body. The cup itself is not hot, but the heat creates a vacuum that pulls the skin up into the cup. Within a few minutes, this skin is darkened by the increased flow of blood. This is what causes both the healing and the hickey.

When Anita placed the first cup, the sound surprised me. It made a loud, sharp, sucking sound and, there it was, stuck to my back. I could feel my skin being drawn up into the cup, but it was not at all painful. She put two cups on my lower back—one on my right kidney and one slightly above and to the outside. Cups can be left on up to 15 minutes depending on the degree of energy stagnation and illness.

While the cups were doing their thing, she put a few acupuncture needles in my back, ankles and wrists to help the process by activating my kidney pulse and calming my heart pulse. (I continue to be amazed by acupuncture. It seems like such a scary process because it has to do with needles, yet it doesn’t hurt.)

The cups stayed on about 10 minutes before Anita removed them, a process of simply twisting them slightly and breaking the seal of the vacuum. The needles came out about 20 minutes later. I sat up, and my back felt great. I didn’t have any lower back pain nor did it feel swollen any more.

Anita told me that cupping could be used as a cure or a management tool, depending on the type and degree of the ailment. She has used it for back pain, women’s issues and irritable bowel syndrome just to name a few. Personally, I found the procedure interesting and quite helpful plus I’m getting huge kick out of the initial shock on my friends’ faces when I show them my bruises.

Anita Hill, MS, LAc, is trained in acupuncture, traditional Chinese herbal formulas, western botanicals, Chinese Medical Medicine, massage and auricular therapy. She can be reached at 584-3864.

November 11, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 46 © 2004 Metro Pulse