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Cupping Therapy

Does Cupping Remove Toxins?

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Cupping is a traditional Chinese medicine dating back thousands of years. It has been used to help in recovery, relieving pain, reducing inflammation and  promoting an increase of blood circulation in the area being treated. With Cupping gaining popularity in the mainstream with athletes and celebrities using it as part of recovery, many people wonder what Cupping is and what it does for you. Today we’re going to talk about how Cupping removes toxins from the body and why it is important.

How Does it Work?

Cupping works by setting a cup directly on the back, shoulder, neck, arms or legs, once the cup is applied to the skin suction begins. The suction pulls up on the skin, muscle and fascia stretching the tissue. This will draw fresh oxygenated blood from the surrounding tissue to the muscle being treated, flushing out the localized area and increasing blood flow. This results in increased recovery, and a round mark left by the cup. This marking is harmless and usually lasts between a couple hours to a week. The marks can actually tell you about the condition of the area being treated based on the color after a Cupping session. Cupping practitioners use this type of therapy to help with a variety of ailments such like:

  • Fever
  • Headaches
  • Leg Pain
  • Cramping
  • Nasal Congestion
  • Poor Appetite
  • Lower Back Pain

Feel free to ask the helpful staff at SOHMA Integrative Medicine in Long Beach CA for more information about Cupping Therapy or read our blog where we have more articles about the benefits of Cupping Therapy.

Removing Toxins

Of course we have organs within our bodies to deal with and remove toxins already, but living in modern, metropolitan cities we sometimes overwork our natural system. A buildup of toxins can appear in our bodies because of a poor diet, stress and since we live in a large city we are constantly being exposed to toxins and pollutants such as smoke from cigarettes, cars and wildfires, chemicals and heavy metals.

When the body is overloaded with toxins it can prevent the production of hemoglobin in your blood by damaging your enzymes which can accelerate aging. This can also lead to a lack of energy, making you feel sluggish and lower your protection against oxidative stress. Oxidative stress happens when there is an imbalance between the production of free radicals and antioxidants. Which can lead to pain, swelling and in extreme cases diabetes or cancer.

Increased Blood Flow

With skin, muscle and other soft tissues being pulled into the cup due to suction, this will naturally increase blood circulation to the area being treated. The increased flow will flush out any stagnated toxins in the blood as well as attract immune cells to the treated area. The increased oxygenated blood can then assist with cell repair and help new connective tissues form. By focusing the blood flow to affected areas it helps your body’s lymphatic system to remove built up toxins. The lymphatic system includes organs like the spleen, lymph nodes and bone marrow. 

This increased blood flow has the added benefit of helping reduce inflammation which will help with pain management and reduce the amount of time needed for the body to naturally repair itself.

We are here to help you recover naturally, Cupping Therapy is just one way we try to achieve this. The final decision to improve your life is ultimately up to you. 

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

What are the Benefits of Using Cupping?

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If you are not yet familiar with cupping, allow me to introduce you to this therapy which has been used by celebrities and professional athletes alike. Today we’ll go over a little bit of Cuppings history as well as the benefits cupping therapy provides. 

You may be asking, what is Cupping? How is it beneficial?

Like many alternative wellness practices, Cupping has been around for thousands of years and can be traced back to traditional Chinese medicine. In recent history Cupping has been popularized in the west by Olympic athletes as well as professional football players when reporters noticed circular marks on the back and shoulders of these athletes.

Cupping is known as a form of alternative medicine, in which localized suction is applied to the skin in order to stretch the tissue and increase blood flow. This will draw fresh oxygenated blood to the targeted area. The suction also stretches the fascia which are layers of tissue around the muscles. Many who use Cupping regularly have seen noticeable improvements when suffering from various conditions such as:

  • Fever
  • Lower Back Pain
  • Poor Appetite
  • Nasal Congestion
  • Cramping
  • Knee/Leg Pain
  • Headaches
  • Mental Health

Now that you are a little more familiar with cupping, here are a few of the benefits of using Cupping.

Increased Circulation

Sometimes due to our lifestyle choices our organs designed to remove toxins from our body need some help in order to keep up. 

As stated previously by having the skin and muscle be stretched into the cup, your body will naturally increase blood flow into the treated tissue. The increase in circulation can then flush stagnated toxins as well as attract immune cells. Increased immune cells and blood flow can then assist with cell repair and help new soft tissue to form. The additional blood flow can also help reduce inflammation which has the added benefit of reducing healing time of aches and pains.

Mental Health

Cupping has the ability to help you relax during the treatment, this feeling of relaxation will continue on after the Cupping session is done. This can help insomnia by improving the quality of sleep as well as how long you can remain sleeping through the night. Sleep helps with physical and mental recovery, poor sleep can lead to poor physical recovery. When you are not feeling physically well then it becomes difficult to fall asleep.

Cupping therapy can soothe the parasympathetic nervous system when the therapist slides the cups across your exposed skin, these are the nerves that manage the organs that help cleanse the body of toxins. When the parasympathetic nervous system is engaged it will encourage relaxation, it will then help alleviate stress and eases anxiety.

Pain Management 

Many athletes use Cupping as a form of pain relief for chronic pain. This is not exclusively for elite athletes who push their bodies to the limit of human capabilities though. Shoulder pain and lower back pain can affect anybody regardless of whether you are an office worker or representing your country at the olympics.

When using Cupping to mitigate pain the stretching of the muscle in the cup soothes can soothe the overactive muscles causing pain. As Cupping promotes blood circulation this can bring with it endorphins which are a naturally occurring pain reliever your own body creates. Resulting in pain reduction and an elevated mood.

Scar Tissue and Varicose Veins

The final benefit I want to talk about is Cupping has the ability to reduce scar tissue, stretch marks and varicose veins. The increased blood flow aids your body in flushing out toxins and helps remove excess fluid. It can also help break down scar tissue adhesion, this helps reduce the appearance of scarring even when the cup isn’t being applied directly over the scarred tissue.

Varicose veins look like swollen and bruised veins just under your skin, usually appearing on your feet and legs. They occur when the valves within the vein do not work properly which leads blood to congest within them and the vein itself to swell. Cupping’s ability to bring an increased flow of fresh oxygenated blood into the problem areas, you may notice the the varicose vein begin to lose their color after only one session, though for longer lasting results you may need multiple sessions.

Feel free to ask us any questions you may have about Cupping therapy, our helpful staff is always willing to help with any concerns you may have about cupping therapy. Our goal is to provide healing and wellness in the most natural way possible.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

Cupping Therapy and 3 Surprising Benefits

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Massage As Part Of Your Therapy

Cupping therapy? 

You may not be familiar with it, what it does, it’s history, or how it can help you. Today we invite you to discover more about this therapy how it can help you.

Cupping Therapy has been around for thousands of years. Early pictographic records show Egyptians may have invented cupping as early as 1500 A.D. and can be traced back to traditional Chinese medicine as far back as 280 A.D. 

In recent history western doctors began the use of cupping therapy in the 1800’s. Not long ago during the Olympic games many athletes popularised and brought cupping to the attention of the masses when reporters noticed round marks around the athlete’s shoulders and backs. This is why when you come to SOHMA Integrative Health Center we are not lying when we say we treat you like an olympian by providing cupping therapy.

Cupping is a form of alternative medicine, in which a local suction is created on the skin with the application of heated cups although it is now more common to use a machine to create the desired effect. Cupping practitioners use this therapy for a wide array of medical conditions including:

  • Fever
  • Lower Back Pain
  • Poor Appetite
  • Nasal Congestion
  • Cramping
  • Knee/Leg Pain
  • Headaches
  • Mental Health

Once the cup is applied to the skin and suction begins, the skin and muscle is sucked into the cup flushing the localized area, stretching the tissue, and increasing blood flow. This will draw fresh oxygenated blood through the tissue. It also stretches the fascia, which are layers of tissue around the muscle. Slight soreness may occur as the skin, fascia, and muscles are being drawn into the cup.

Benefit #1 Diagnostic

Do not be alarmed if you notice marks after a cupping therapy session. Usually a round mark is left behind by the cups, not to be confused with bruising as those are normally caused by blunt force. The marks left behind by the cups can say a lot about the condition of the area being treated. 

It’s normal for some marks to show after cupping, if the treated area has no marks or if the area is pale it can mean there is a lack of blood flow therefore not letting the body heal.

If the mark left behind is light pink this means that the area being worked on has a very good blood circulation and does not need to be worked on. These marks usually fade away within the hour after the therapy session.

 A slightly lighter red can represent an accumulation of toxins the cups are flushing out of your system. Moderate stagnation will usually show a more intense red mark. These marks represent the need for more work to be done in the affected area.

A very deep red mark tends to mean severe stagnation of toxins and bad circulation. These tend to be the parts of the body that require the most attention. These marks tend to take the longest to heal, as much as 3 days if the injury is fairly new, and up to 2 weeks if the injury was left untreated for longer.

Benefit #2 Promote Blood Circulation

Although the body has organs designed to remove toxins from your body already, our modern lifestyle sometimes over works that system. Build up of toxins can appear in your body because of poor diets, stress or lifestyle. Cupping focuses blood flow which boosts our bodies ability to remove these toxins.

With the suction pulling the skin muscle and tissue into the cup, this will naturally increase blood flow into the area being treated. The increased circulation will flush any stagnated toxins as well as attract your body’s immune cells to the area being treated. The increased blood flow can assist with cell repair and help new connective tissues to form. Additionally, the added blood flow can help with inflammation and reduce the time needed for the body to naturally repair itself.

Benefit #3 Mental Health

Cupping therapy soothes the parasympathetic nervous system which is in charge of the organs that help cleanse the body. By engaging the nervous system cupping encourages deep relaxation and easing anxiety. Anxiety is characterized by panic attacks, feeling of worry, or stress that is disproportionate to its cause.

The treatment has the ability to relax the patient and can help improve sleep duration and quality. Poor sleep has been shown to significantly worsen the system’s mental health issues. Sleep helps us to not only recover physically, but mentally as well. Poor sleep can increase poor health and poor health can make sleep difficult. Making it an unhealthy vicious cycle.

At SOHMA Integrative Health Center, we have specialists that can assess and answer any questions about Cupping Therapy you may have.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us if we are right for you. Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.