Cupping therapy, nowadays, is very popular in our daily life. No matter where you come from, it is definitely sure you have heard of it before. It can be seen in most hospitals and clinics here in China, while especially prevail in Guangdong Province where it is as common as cold medication. When focusing on its history, cupping therapy would be dated from around the sixth to second B.C., which also is called the "Angle Method" in the ancient times. Under the obvious principles of air- exhausting with burning fire, leaving something bruises of this kind in the skin, simultaneously, this therapy is also known as " Blood Stasis Therapy". Frankly, it is the a kind of external treatment of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM), and widely applied in the clinical practice today with no trauma, simply-application and reliable safety coefficient.

When it comes to the equipment of this therapy, I can tell you a lot among which you must have acquaintance with the materials they made of—bamboo, ceramic, glass, plastic and other special material, etc. Under most circumstances, we apply the glass and vacuum cups to treat patients or do home health care. The former combine the physical effects of heat and mechanical, inherit advantages of traditional methods and use the adsorption capacity from negative pressures and heat on patients. The latter, without the effect of heat, using the lever and the piston principles, produce the pressures to stimulate the acupuncture points or meridians aiming to do precaution and health-care. Luckily, the operation of cupping is so easy and convenient that people don’t need strict trainings to grasp the skill. In daily family care, I recommend the vacuum cups with more simple procedures. However, in our clinical practice, we prefer the glass one to others, disinfecting easily, meanwhile showing the changes of skin clearly because of the transparent bodies.

Generally, cupping has the main function of alleviating pain, relaxing muscles and relieving muscular tension and spasm. We also mention them in another way- clearing away and dispersing stagnant heat, warming meridians to dissipate cold and smoothing circulation of blood by terminology from TCM. In clinical application, different usages have different indications. However, cupping has an unique preponderance on both chronic and acute injuries of soft tissues, as Low back pain, strain of lumbar muscles, degenerative osteoarthritis, periarthritis of shoulder, tenosynovitis, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, neck stiffness and so forth.

In theory, its contraindications are also easy to sum up-hemorrhagic diseases, acute traumatic fractures, severe edema, allergic reaction in skins, fester and mass (tumor), which are avoid of being used. At the same time, infants, children, pregnant women's waist abdomen, patients with severe acute or chronic infectious diseases, certainly, mental tensions, the eyes, ears, mouth, nose and other holes of the human body are excluded on the list. There is another situation to which should pay attention, we should learn to protect the privacy. For instance, women wearing low collar or sleeveless, their necks and shoulders are exposed. Actually some patients will blame or complaints doctors on leaving the printings and having a negative impact.