Bhubaneshwar: Well, it’s called cupping therapy. It is one of the oldest forms of alternative medicine. It dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese and Middle Eastern cultures. One of the world’s oldest medical textbooks, the Ebers Papyrus, describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1550 BC.

Here, a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. The suction process stimulates the skin and muscles.

The main benefit of suction is that it promotes increased blood circulation, which can help relieve muscle tension, promote cell repair, and aid in further regeneration.

People get it for many purposes, including pain relief, inflammation, blood circulation, relaxation, and wellness, and as a type of deep tissue massage.

Basically, there are two methods of cupping i.e. dry and wet. During both types of cupping, the therapist puts a flammable substance such as alcohol, herbs, or paper into a cup and sets it on fire. When the fire goes out, they put the cup upside down on the skin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slyWBbHSUE8

As the air inside the cup cools, it creates a vacuum. This causes the skin to lift and redden as the blood vessels dilate. The cut is usually left in place for up to 3 minutes.

A more modern version of the suction cup uses a rubber pump instead of fire to create the vacuum inside the cup. Sometimes therapists use silicone cups, which they can move from place to place on your skin for a massage effect.

In an exclusive conversation with Swasthya Sambad, Dr. Susmita Sahoo, Professional Cupping Therapist, Healthville highlighted the importance of cupping treatment. She said: “One of the most commonly used and oldest cupping therapy treatments is dynamic cupping. This technique deals with the use of gel. This mostly eliminates toxicity without an invasive method. Besides relaxing the body, this treatment benefits patients with diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lower back and upper back pain, pain in the neck region, cervical spondylosis, muscle spasms and tightness. There are different types of cupping like static cupping, fire cupping, air cupping, ice cupping, moxa cupping, etc. Generally, this cupping technique is used by sports professionals. ”