When to Consider Dry Cupping Therapy

Though cupping therapy seems like a relatively new trend in the United States (shoutout to Olympic athletes for popularizing the technique), it has been a traditional medicinal method in Eastern countries for centuries. 

Our experts at Integrated Body and Medicine in Highland, Indiana, are fans of dry cupping therapy in particular, a form of cupping therapy that’s completely noninvasive and available to anyone who wants to try it.

If you’re wondering whether dry cupping therapy is right for you, here are four scenarios where dry cupping therapy could be the perfect addition to your health, fitness, and wellness routine. 

1. You train hard in the gym

Whether you exercise recreationally or competitively (like bodybuilders and CrossFitters), intense gym sessions take a toll on your muscles, joints and nervous system. Increasing blood flow to your worked muscles is one of the best ways to speed up muscle recovery after a workout. 

Dry cupping therapy can shorten your recovery time and optimize your training plan by delivering essential nutrients and oxygen to hard-worked muscles. 

In this case, you can think of dry cupping therapy as a form of localized, intensified compression therapy: The cups draw pressure into a small area of your body, quickly increasing blood flow to that area. 

2. You’re an athlete

Dry cupping therapy has risen from the ranks and claimed its stake as one of the top recovery tactics for athletes — and this is for good reason. Dry cupping therapy is essentially a form of soft tissue manipulation comparable to massage therapy, percussive therapy, and the Graston technique. 

All of these modalities have the same goal: Break up adhesions in the muscle tissue, encourage blood flow to specific tissues, and expedite muscle healing (exactly what athletes need to perform their best day after day). 

The risks are also extremely low, so athletes can enjoy peace of mind during their dry cupping therapy sessions.

3. You have a job that requires manual labor

We see all you hard workers out there. If you work in construction, landscape management, oil production, automotive repair, or another manual labor industry, we’d be surprised to hear you say that you don’t have any aches or pains. 

Even those who work jobs that aren’t necessarily manual labor, but involve a lot of activity (such as nursing and serving tables) can benefit from dry cupping therapy. If you make good use of your hands, feet, arms, and legs for work, ask our team how dry cupping therapy can keep you at 100%. 

4. You have chronic low-grade pain

Chronic pain of any severity level is a good reason to see a doctor. Low-grade chronic pain in particular — such as pesky muscle aches — can benefit tremendously from dry cupping therapy. 

Aside from muscle recovery from workouts or competitions, chronic pain is likely one of the most common reasons people seek dry cupping therapy, due to the soothing massage-like effects of the therapy.

To learn more about dry cupping therapy and the benefits, come in for a consultation to find out if it’s right for you. Schedule an appointment with us at Integrated Body and Medicine today by calling our Highland, Indiana, office or by booking an appointment through our online system.