Dr. Heather Auld, integrative medicine physician, says that medical Cupping Therapy help patients suffering from chronic pain and muscle tension, among other benefits.
Benefits to Medical Cupping
December 2016
It can help alleviate muscle pain, even headaches. Doctors say medical cupping therapy is a technique that’s been around for years. It started gaining national attention during the summer Olympics, but doctors say medical cupping therapy has been used for decades.
Dr. Heather Auld, an integrative medicine physician with Lee Health, says medical cupping helps patients suffering from muscle pain. “Cupping is an ancient vacuum type therapy and traditionally they would light a fire under it and then the skin would rise up and it releases any muscle tension. Now, it’s called medical cupping and we actually have machines that can give different amounts of pressure.”
That 15 minutes pressure is painless for the patient, feeling similar to a massage. “It’s very relaxing. It feels like a massage. It feels really good. It’s like having a deep tissue massage but instead of pushing the tissue in, it pulls the tissue out,” said Dr. Auld.
The suction cup first attaches to the area of pain on the body then moves around redirecting the pain away from the area. Depending on the problem, a patient may have multiple sessions to treat the area. “Usually, it’s an acute pain. In those cases that would be immediately relieved by the magnets. Muscle tension, headaches, even bowel issues. Believe it or not this is really good for people who have chronic constipation,” said Dr. Auld.
It works by expanding the capillaries and increasing the amount of fluid entering and leaving the tissues. Patients who suffer from chronic muscle spasms or muscle tension may benefit from cupping therapy.
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Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries. Lee Health - Caring People. Inspiring Care.
