Precisely defined chemical substances aroused the interest of physicians because they had fast and specific effects. In addition, treatment was much easier with the newly discovered chemical drugs, whose mechanism of action was clearly explainable, than with the empirically based treatment methods. As a consequence, many of the old, proven treatment methods, including cupping, have gradually been forgotten in conventional Western medicine and have become the specialty of naturopaths, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners (Heilpraktiker), and laypersons of the older generations who practiced them for self-treatment at home. Only a few physicians have continued to show interest in and research a treatment method that has survived for so many years.
In the course of centuries, cupping (especially the “bloody” variation) has unfortunately also been discredited by exaggerated and therefore often harmful applications. Publications by B. Aschner, G. Bachmann, J. Abele, A. Bier, Ch. W. Hufeland, and others confirm not only the harmful effects of cupping, which this method has long been blamed for, but also that these do not occur when it is applied correctly. These physicians also endorse the regulating, resistance-increasing effect of cupping and the acceleration of recovery in many diseases. Personally, I have also gathered a wealth of experiences with cupping throughout the years—even after critical evaluation, I have not once seen any harmful effects.
Not only in Germany, but also in many other countries, the medical trend has been reversed and therapeutic methods from complementary and alternative medicine are once again being adapted by conventional Western medicine. We owe the exploration of the ancient experience of the healing arts, which proves that we can utilize the reflex connections between the body’s surface and the diseased organ, to physicians like Head and MacKenzie (“Head’s zones,” hyperalgesic zones), Hansen and von Staa (cutivisceral reflex paths), Scheidt (transitional segments), Pischinger (cell matrix system), and others.
The successes of alternative treatment methods can no longer be denied because they do, in fact, exist.
2 What Do We Mean by“Cupping”?
2.1 Definition and Treatment Goal
Conditions that cannot be cured with drugs are cured with iron.
Conditions that cannot be cured with iron are cured with fire. Conditions that cannot be cured with fire are incurable.
Hippocrates
Cupping refers to any natural treatment method in which suction cups are used in therapy.
Cupping is one of the traditional treatment methods that do not involve medicinal substances but nevertheless serve as useful weapons in the fight against many diseases or complaints. Applied correctly, the method is harmless and does not cause any adverse side-effects. The results are often fast and impressive because the body reacts within hours to cupping at the proper location.
The goal of cupping is to strengthen or activate the organism’s self-healing powers, when these are not able to do so on their own. Cupping stimulates and supports the options that nature has provided the body with to resist disease.
2.2 Effects and Connections
Cupping consists of two components:
• Segmental therapy: The location of cupping is essential (see Chapter 3).
• Regulation therapy: Extravasates (i.e., fluid discharged from the blood vessels) act as stimuli (see Chapter 4).
Both of these components only affect the source of any illness, but not healthy body functions and tissue.
Note
The essential effect of cupping is the retuning and therefore also the regulation of disturbed body functions, as well as the alleviation of pain and cramping, improvement in blood circulation, and inhibition of inflammation.
By locally applying suction cups, extravasates are created and as a result of these, hematomas (bruises) that cause a strong irritation. This irritation activates the body’s own localized, as well as generalized, healing powers and therefore has an anti-inflammatory effect, which in turn supports rapid recovery in any illness based on inflammation (e.g., pneumonia).
The process of regulating body functions eliminates blockages that have been caused mostly by a focal disturbance or by excessive consumption of chemical medicines, which impede the natural processes of the organism and make it ill. It is not uncommon that cupping, by eliminating blocked regulation, even brings out additional complaints, which finally indicate the location of the true disorder.
By stimulating circulation, cupping aims at widening the blood vessels. Increasing the blood flow at the cupping sites strengthens the metabolism and allows for faster elimination of substances that cause pain and cramping.
The above-mentioned segmental therapy occurs via the “Head’s zones,” via the so-called cutivisceral reflex paths (connections between skin and organ). Through the nervous system, this has a curative effect on disturbed neurovegetative functions and diseased viscera.
2.3 Methods of Application
2.3.1 Cupping Diagnosis
Cupping diagnosis allows the practitioner to determine with the aid of suction cups whether the position of the symptoms is the true location of the disease. Additionally, we can detect which organ is defective and in need of treatment.
2.3.2 “Dry” or“Bloodless” Cupping
In dry cupping, the suction cup is held over an alcohol flame in such a way that the air in it is heated. Then, the cup is placed on the treatment spot.
As the heated air cools down, it creates a vacuum inside the cup. This process sucks the skin into the cup, causing hyperemia (strong circulation) at this spot, as well as an extravasate (bloody fluid that has leaked from the vessel and is present in the tissue).
Note
Cupping Massage, a Variation
In cupping massage, as in dry massage, a suction cup is placed on the skin, but is then moved around on the lubricated skin across a certain area. Cupping massage has a much stronger effect on blood circulation than regular massage, resulting in a large, in some places more and in other places less, pronounced extravasate in the treatment area.
2.3.3 “Wet” or“Bloody” Cupping
In wet cupping, blood is drawn at the cupping site by cutting the skin with a scarificator. The cup is placed on the skin only afterwards, to suck the blood out of the cuts. This might sound quite bloodthirsty, but in reality only involves a blood loss of 25 mL at the most. Consequently, an application of 10–15 cups of average size means losing 150–250 mL of blood.
Note
Wet cupping is related to bloodletting and the application of leeches. Its effect is not limited to drawing blood, but also includes a drawing out and retuning action.