So, last week I found myself in the house of a petite hispanic woman, getting small glass cups suctioned to my back. This was my first time trying ‘cupping’, an alternative therapy that has been used for a long time (very scientific measurement, I know).
They hurt. It was actually more discomfort than pain, I guess. But either way, my back is covered in what are basically bruises, and I’m going to look like I had an affair with an octopus for a few weeks.
As for any benefits I’ve experienced, I don’t know. I got a massage at the same time, and that definitely felt good and helped my tall person back problems. But I don’t have any reference for measuring how ‘effective’ the cupping was. And that also seems to be the biggest limiting factor in research around cupping. It is hard to placebo the process of cupping, so how can you design a blind study for it?
Regardless, I doubt that cupping has long-term negative effects, and I can say that it was an interesting and cool experience (not sure if I’ll be trying it again).
At least it wasn’t wet cupping (content warning: blood)..
Here’s a harvard article I found with some helpful information.