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cupping therapy

  • Cupping therapy is a form of myofascial decompression and is a traditional Chinese treatment which has been practiced for thousands of years. The treatment involves at the application of cups that creates a suction thus decompressing the underlying tissues. 

  • We see the best results and longer lasting results with cupping therapy in our practice when it is used in conjunction with other manual therapy and movement corrective techniques. Our cupping therapy and massages are offered to the Scottsdale area.

cupping therapy with movement for pec and shoulder tightness

cupping therapy with movement for pec and shoulder tightness

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​EleCupping therapy has multiple therapeutic functions:

  • Improving musculoskeletal pain or stiffness

  • Alleviating non specific pain: including neck and low back pain

  • Improves blood circulation to an area

  • Promotes healing 

    • (Lee-Mei et  al., 2016)

what the research says..

  • Patients in a randomized control trial with chronic neck and shoulder pain (CNSP) had significantly decreased pain after cupping therapy. The cupping therapy also demonstrated little if any negative effects on the patients (Lee-Mei et al., 2016). 

  • In a systematic review and meta-analysis, they found that cupping therapy as a stand alone treatment or in conjunction with other forms of therapy found that there was a significant reduction in neck pain, improved function and quality of life compared to the control groups in the studies (Kim et al., 2019).

  • For patients with ankylosing spondylitis, Cupping therapy combined with needling had significantly better effective rate and and lower recurrence rate after one year than just needling alone (Wan et al., 2005).

How RTS Physio utilizes

cupping therapy

Cupping therapy is used frequently in our clinic but never as a stand alone treatment. This is because the improvement from the cupping alone is not long lasting. When combined with other manual and corrective techniques, cupping helps improve our patient outcomes for physical therapy which is supported by the current literature. Call our team to discuss cupping therapy and massages completed by our physical therapists in Scottsdale.

WHAT TO EXPECT DURING cupping therapy

The cups are placed on the body and pumped to get a decompression; the more pumps the more aggressive the treatment is. We use cupping in a couple different ways. The least aggressive is when the cups are placed onto the skin and left in a stationary position. We also use the cups with movement. This is typically more uncomfortable but the results are better with certain conditions where there is limited mobility. For more information on cupping therapy and massages performed by physical therapists in Scottsdale call our team!

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