Cupping and Scraping

When you are left dealing with back or neck pain issues, you should immediately consider seeing a massage or physical therapist. What you will find is they have a multitude of massage and therapeutic treatment options at their disposal to treat your issue. The only real consideration is trying to figure out which option would best address your health issues.

For the most part, cupping and scraping are two therapeutic that fall beyond the scope of what would be considered moderate treatment options. However, there are circumstances under which either one of these options might be able to deliver the health benefits you need.

In the following sections, the discussion is going to focus on defining cupping and scraping, followed by discussing the possible health benefits of these options.

Cupping is an ancient Asian therapeutic process that was once used to release bad spirits that lived in the human body. Through the process of evolution, cupping is now used to treat muscle and joint pain issues.

The process involves the placement of plastic or glass cups in the treatment area, usually the back. The cups have a mechanism by which a vacuum can be used to provide sucking pressure. The pressure pulls a “bubble” of skin and muscle into the cup where it is held for a prescribed amount of time. The purpose of the treatment process is to pull healthy blood into the treatment area for the purpose of healing injuries or relieving pain.

Scraping is a simple massage therapeutic option that aids in the relief of pain, muscle tension, and the healing of soft tissues like ligaments, tendons, and fascia. The process involves the massaging (scraping) of muscles back and forth to increase blood flow to the problem area. It also aids in the loosening of soft tissues, which should result in pain relief and the further healing of soft tissues.

There is one thing on which you can count. Your massage/physical therapists will always seek out the therapeutic options that will address your health issues in the least invasive way or ways possible. Admittedly, cupping and scraping fall at the upper end of invasiveness in the massage therapy realm. The processes don’t invade the body, but they are a bit more aggressive that some of the more moderate massage therapy techniques.

The really cool thing about cupping and scraping is they offer several surprising health benefits. As a case in point, here are a few of those health benefits.

Back and Neck Pain Relief

The key to resolving pain issues in the back and neck is finding the source of the pain. Sometimes, it could be skeletal issues that include problems with the soft tissues between joints. Other times, the pain might be coming from muscle tension issues. Either way, the best way to address pain is to increase the flow of blood to the problem area.

Cupping and scalping are great ways to promote “bloodletting.” Cupping works well to increase blood to specific areas while scaping is more of a universal option.

Lowering of Heart Rate and Blood Pressure

Stress and pain are the number one causes of irregular heart rates and high blood pressure. To address such issues, cupping and scaping serve to relax muscles that have tensed up due to stress or for the purpose of protecting injured areas. As muscles relax, blood flows more freely throughout the body. That causes the heart to work in a more efficient fashion, which eventually translates to lower blood pressure.

Increase the Effectiveness of the Immune System

Red and white blood cells are what the body calls upon when intruding bacteria and viruses besiege the body. The more red and white blood cells that are available for battle will result in a better immune response. As cupping and scraping aid in the flow of healthy blood cells throughout the body, the byproduct of such treatments is an increased ability of the body to fight off illnesses.

Improving Skin Health

The use of chemicals is not the best way to rejuvenate the skin. In fact, the healing properties of healthy blood are what help the skin stay healthy and look clean. Once again, cupping and scalping can play a big role in increasing the flow of healthy blood throughout the body. In fact, most massage therapies could help with skin health as a secondary benefit to the therapies.

Improve Sleep

A healthy and relaxed body that is pain-free will usually result in the individual getting better nights of sleep. As a muscle tension and pain relief process, anyone submitting to cupping and or scalping should be able to experience some level of improvement in their sleep habits.

On the surface, the cupping and scraping therapeutic processes might look a bit uncomfortable if not painful. The reality is a tiny bit of discomfort might well result in you getting a lot of extra health benefits beyond addressing your pain and muscle tension issues.

If you would like to know more about the way we employ cupping and scalping in our approach to health through massage, we encourage you to call 303-630-9603 or fill out our online form.