Cupping Therapy (also referred to as Fire Cupping) is a type of bodywork used in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Cupping works like a massage, but in reverse. That is what you see going on in the picture on top of this page.
This is how cupping therapy works:
To begin, a vacuum is drawn into small glass cups that are placed on your body.
The vacuum creates suction to gently lift your skin away from your muscles.
Cupping therefore creates space for blood to flow between your skin and muscles.
Because it increases blood flow, the suction used in cupping relieves muscle pain. Interestingly, increased blood flow into the muscles carries nutrients into the muscles to promote healing.