Cupping therapy is one of the oldest treatment interventions dating back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern culture. It is a practice in which the therapist puts special cups on the skin to create suction. The old school theory behind cupping is that the cups are thought to cause the tissue to be drawn up and swell causing increase in blood flow to the affected area and therefore improve healing. The actual research behind this is not great. However cupping can be very effective when used as a form of soft tissue massage. The cups are able to draw up superficial muscle and skin layers and then the therapist can mobilize the tissue using the cups. This can be very effective to release superficial muscle knots, fascial restrictions, and scar tissue. See the link below for how we tend to use cupping in our clinic.