With the Olympics having been back in full swing again you might start to see a lot of athletes with the odd-looking circular marks on their backs, shoulders or legs. This is from a treatment called Myofascial cupping.
Fascia is a layer of connective tissue below the skin. It surrounds every part of your body and provides shape and support. It is multi-layered and plays an active role in the body. It supports tissues and organs, lessens friction, eases muscle tension, and tightens up reflexively. It also helps your bloodstream, bone tissue, and skeletal muscles.
When it’s healthy, your fascia is slippery and smooth, and it stretches with you as you move. If it’s not doing well, it can get thicker, stickier, drier, and tighter.
Between layers of body fascia, a substance called hyaluronan helps the layers work smoothly with each other. When the hyaluronan dries up, your body fascia can seize up around muscles, make it harder to move, or get uncomfortable knots. Dried-out fascia, called fascia adhesions, can happen because of:
A lifestyle without enough physical activity
Activity that uses the same part of your body over and over
Surgery or injury that causes damage to one part of your body
That is where Myofascial cupping can be a great treatment method for these particular adhesions. Using a squeeze pump, it creates a negative pressure treatment within the cup, which we can lift the tissue to create space and movement within the underlaying layers and intercellular fluid.
Benefits of myofascial cupping-
Stimulates the local nervous system and can also have a relaxing affect
Helps to stimulate lymph system removing congestion and toxins- improving our immune system
Moves and drains excess fluids
Stretches and unwinds fascia and releases soft tissue
Moves blood stagnation
Draws an increase blood supply to tissues- stimulating skin health, increasing oxygen supply
Removes micro and small adhesions- allowing for more ROM
Relieves inflammation after the acute stage
Provides deep tissue work without discomfort
Improving circulation
Relaxes superficial connective tissue, allowing for deeper hands-on work
The suction created by cupping pulls stagnant intercellular fluid to the surface, removes toxic debris and replaces it with fresh oxygenated, nutrient rich fluid. Encouraging our bodies natural healing ability.
Because cupping is using a suction method it can leave marks on the skin, these are not bruises. Although sometimes referred to and can look like bruises, there has been no trauma happen to the skin or underlaying structure, if performed properly. These marks are due to the underlaying stagnant fluid and increase in circulation being drawn to our bodies surface where our lymph system and natural healing structures are able to disperse it.
Myofascial cupping performed by a qualified therapist is a safe treatment for a lot of people not just athletes and can even be performed during pregnancy.
Written by Nicole Clark, Myotherapist