Introduction
Cupping therapy is one of the oldest and most effective method of releasing the toxins from body tissue and organs.It is also known as vacuum cupping, hijama cupping, horn treatment etc. It is a practice in which the therapist puts special cups on the skin to create suction. This causes the tissue beneath the cup to be drawn up and swell causing increase in blood flow to affected area. Enhanced blood flow under the cups draws impurities and toxins away from the nearby tissues and organs towards the surface for elimination.
History
Cupping is a treatment that has been used for a number of ailments for thousands of years. Over the centuries, cupping techniques and styles have often been influenced by their geographical location, as well as by the materials used in that area: animal horns, bamboo, ceramic, glass, metal, and plastic have all been used in this procedure found in Ancient Egyptian, Chinese, Unani, Korean, Tibetan, and Latin American cultures, whose purpose has been to assist the body in self-healing. Eber’s papyrus (1550 BCE) is the first documented instance of this therapy in North Africa. A cup refers to the Egyptian glyph for doctor. According to Ge Hong (281-341 CE), animal horns were used to drain body fluids in Asia during the Jin dynasty. Additionally, it was popular during the Greek Bronze era, when bronze cups were used.
As prescribed by Al-Qanun Fi’l-Tibb, Canon of Medicine (1025 CE), cups are often used to treat conditions related to menstruation in Arabic and Islamic countries. It is reported that Prophet Muhammed used it and advocated its use.
According to Galen, the principle of indication for blood lenting is to eliminate residues or divert blood from one part to another.
The Daoist model of holism informs the practice of cupping and other similar therapies in Chinese medicine. The holistic philosophy maintains that systems and their properties can only be understood as a whole and not as parts. According to Daoist philosophy, no individual could exist unless it is connected to nature. This is because it is influenced both by natural phenomena, such as the seasons and climate and by internal states, such as emotional stress. An imbalance in the body is caused by climate, emotions, and/or trauma, according to this concept.
Since Chinese medicinal researchers focus on observable principles of balance examined in living bodies, their traditional medicine practices are considered “alternative” by the dominant medical systems, despite having been practiced for centuries in cultures and countries around the world.
As defined by the Alternative Medicine Association, alternative medicine refers to practices that are unproven, disproven, impossible to prove, or excessively harmful relative to their effects. Unfortunately, medicine has been viewed solely from an epistemological standpoint, particularly Western allopathic medicine. By defining justified beliefs and opinions, this framework establishes a theory of knowledge. As a result, evidence-based medicine has been adopted, predominantly relying on anatomical dissection for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes. Modern Cupping as western based cupping uses the plastic, silicon or glass cups with a vacuum seal to influence the myofascial tissue physiology.
