DAAN Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture

Cupping is a traditional Chinese treatment that uses heated cups to stimulate meridians, much like acupuncture. Here’s a first hand account of a treatment:

There are two varieties of cups that can be used in the procedure, glass or bamboo, and Dr Wang ran through the differences between them. Bamboo is the more traditional. In China, it is boiled before being placed on the skin. Nowadays, however, glass has generally replaced bamboo as it allows practitioners to see the skin underneath.

The cups need to be heated before they are placed on the body, and there are various ways of doing this. One involves swabbing the base of each cup with alcohol-soaked cotton wool, igniting the alcohol, and then quickly placing the cup on the surface of the skin – the burning of the alcohol consumes oxygen, which creates suction. Another way involves igniting an alcohol-soaked tissue stuck to the bottom of the cup, although, he explained, this method could sometimes involve burning alcohol being accidentally dripped on to the skin, which didn’t sound good. There are other methods, too, one involving mini tripods and flaming cotton, but by this time I just wanted to get on with things.

Dr Wang and his cups were ready to go. He was treating me for my lower back pain, and he deemed that I needed five cups. I stripped down to my jeans and lay face down on the bed.

Dr Wang ignited the cups before placing them quickly all over my back. The sensation took me by surprise and I let out a mild yelp. Dr Wang urged me to relax and I began to experience a warm sensation followed by a tightening of the skin as it rose up into the glass cups. It wasn’t painful, more strange. The cups were left there for five minutes. As the time ticked by, I felt more relaxed.

Then the process was repeated on my front, this time using a bamboo cup placed over my belly button. This time, I felt nothing except mild indigestion.

And then I was done.

Tags: General, Herbs //