Cupping

Myofascial decompression (MFD), more commonly referred to a Cupping, is a traditional Chinese therapy that has been adapted to the field of Sports Medicine. It has become so popular among professional athletes, that the majority of Olympic hopefuls at the 2016 Rio Olympics —including Michael Phelps—requested Cupping as part of their maintenance recovery programs.

Who Can Benefit from Cupping?

At Spear, our therapists use a type of cupping called Air Cupping. Air Cupping, spe-cifically, has been indicated in a variety of injuries including chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia, migraines, cervical spondylosis and other myofascial soft tissue injuries. Air cupping is used to promote healing and blood flow to the injured area. Cupping can:

  • Eliminate pain
  • Eliminate any mechanical deficiencies caused by restricted soft tissue
  • Treat myofascial strains and soft tissue restrictions unrelated to injury

At Spear Physical Therapy, we provide Cupping/MFD services to everyone from high school athletes and weekend warriors to athletes at the highest levels of competition.

How Does Cupping Work?

Placing the cups on the body increases blood flow to the injured area and draws toxins from the deeper tissue to aid in healing. The negative pressure from the cups lifts the fascia to stretch it and allow for lymphatic drainage of toxins. Restoring normal tissue movement can eliminate pain as well as any mechanical deficiencies caused by the restricted soft tissue.

The traditional way of using MFD was to mimic the meridian lines, or healing pathways, of the body. The cups were placed along these meridians to elicit changes within the body.

Today, there are a few different cupping techniques that can be used: some are more passive (the cups are placed on areas of tension and not moved for the duration of treatment), and some are more active and aggressive (after placing the cups on certain restricted areas, the patient is asked to perform an active movement).

Note: Cupping can result in deep red circles where the cups were placed, indicating that toxins and other cellular debris have moved from deeper tissue layers to the surface. Circles could last for up to a week or more, and are not painful, with the exception of some minimal initial soreness.

How Much Does Cupping Cost?

Cupping is one modality that may be used as part of your traditional Physical Therapy treatment. Use of Cupping and other modalities will be determined by your Spear Certified Physical Therapist at time of treatment.

 

Therapists offering Cupping
Amy Almeida, LMT, PTA
Amy Almeida Headshot
Amy Almeida, LMT, PTA
LMT, PTA
Tom Barcia, PT, DPT, ATC
Tom Barcia Headshot
Tom Barcia, PT, DPT, ATC
Jennifer Baudhuin, PT, DPT
Jennifer Baudhuin headshot
Jennifer Baudhuin, PT, DPT
Mohit Birdi, PT, DPT, CSCS
Mohit Birdi headshot
Mohit Birdi, PT, DPT, CSCS
Lauren Carleton, PT, DPT, CHT
Lauren Carleton headshot
Lauren Carleton, PT, DPT, CHT
Emily Chug, PT, DPT, MPH
Emily Chug headshot
Emily Chug, PT, DPT, MPH
DPT, MPH, PT
Jeremy Crow, PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS, ART
Jeremy Crow headshot
Jeremy Crow, PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS, ART
ART, CSCS, DPT, PT, SCS
Martin Del Prado, PT, DPT, CTPS, CSAC
Martin del Prado headshot
Martin Del Prado, PT, DPT, CTPS, CSAC
Keena Garcia, PT
Keena Garcia headshot
Keena Garcia, PT
Naeema Haq, PT, DPT
Naeema Haq headshot
Naeema Haq, PT, DPT
DPT, PT
Maura Iacobucci, MS, OTR/L
Maura Iacobucci headshot
Maura Iacobucci, MS, OTR/L
Kameron Jones, PT, DPT
Kameron Jones headshot
Kameron Jones, PT, DPT
DPT, PT
Matthew Klayman, PT, DPT, OCS
Matthew Klayman headshot
Matthew Klayman, PT, DPT, OCS
Kyle Koelsch, PT, DPT, CSCS
Kyle Koelsch headshot
Kyle Koelsch, PT, DPT, CSCS
CSCS, DPT, PT
Eli Lamberson, PT, DPT, CSCS
Eli Lamberson headshot
Eli Lamberson, PT, DPT, CSCS
Kevin Lapham, PT, DPT, CSCS
Kevin Lapham headshot
Kevin Lapham, PT, DPT, CSCS
Justin Lugtu, PT, DPT, CSCS
Justin Lugtu headshot
Justin Lugtu, PT, DPT, CSCS
Kathleen O'Donnell-Pickert, OTR/L, CHT
Kathleen O'Donnell-Pickert headshot
Kathleen O'Donnell-Pickert, OTR/L, CHT
Matthew Procopio, PT, DPT
Matthew Procopio headshot
Matthew Procopio, PT, DPT
Nick Puleo, PT, DPT, CSCS, XPS
Nick Puleo headshot
Nick Puleo, PT, DPT, CSCS, XPS
Joshua Rieders, PT, DPT, CSCS
Joshua Rieders headshot
Joshua Rieders, PT, DPT, CSCS
CSCS, DPT, PT
Beth Kines, PT, DPT
Beth Kines headshot
Beth Kines, PT, DPT
Daniel Romeo, PT, DPT, CSCS, TPI I
Daniel Romeo headshot
Daniel Romeo, PT, DPT, CSCS, TPI I
CSCS, DPT, PT, TPI Level 1
Michael Schmutter, PT, DPT
Michael Schmutter headshot
Michael Schmutter, PT, DPT
DPT, PT
Trisha Sheth, PT, DPT
Trisha sheth headshot
Trisha Sheth, PT, DPT
DPT, PT
Clyde Staley, PT, DPT, CSCS
Clyde Staley headshot
Clyde Staley, PT, DPT, CSCS
Vivek Sukumaran, PT, DPT, TPI Level 1
Vivek Sukumaran headshot
Vivek Sukumaran, PT, DPT, TPI Level 1
DPT, PT, TPI Level 1
Merin Thazhathukunnel PT, DPT, LSVT BIG, BFRT
Merin Thazhathukunnel headshot
Merin Thazhathukunnel PT, DPT, LSVT BIG, BFRT
Kyle Veltre, PT, DPT
Kyle Veltre headshot
Kyle Veltre, PT, DPT
DPT, PT
Allison Ventola, PT, DPT
Allison Ventola headshot
Allison Ventola, PT, DPT
DPT, PT
Named the nation's top physical therapy practice (twice).
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