Have you ever heard about Fire Cupping?
Know about one of the most unusual ways of treatment

Introduction

This is one of the most unusual ways of treatment which still prevails in China. According to the practitioners of this technique, it is very good for your health. This article also has got a link at the end which shows a video in which fire cupping is done. It looks mighty painful but according to the practitioners, it is not.

Fire Cupping

Fire cupping is a method of applying acupressure by creating a vacuum next to the patient's skin. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) it involves placing glass, plastic, or bamboo cups on the skin with a vacuum. The therapy is used to relieve what is called "stagnation" in TCM terms, and is used in the treatment of respiratory diseases such as the common cold, pneumonia, and bronchitis.

Cupping is also used to treat back, neck, shoulder, and other musculoskeletal pain. Its advocates claim it has other applications as well. This technique, in varying forms, has also been found in the folk medicine of Vietnam, the Balkans, modern Greece, Mexico, and Russia, among other places, including Iran where it is called 'bod-kesh' meaning literally 'pull with air'.

Method

Fire cupping is a 2,500-year-old method to increase the circulation of Qi and blood. Practitioners use fire cupping to treat breathing difficulties such as asthma, cough, and chest tightness. Fire cupping is also used to treat cold and flu symptoms, gastrointestinal difficulties, menstrual pain, neck and shoulder pain, low back pain, and sciatica.

A vacuum is created by air heated by fire in a glass cup placed flush against the patient's skin. As the air cools in the cup, a vacuum forms that pulls up on the skin, stimulating the acupressure effect.

The cups are usually roughly bell shaped with a capacity of about 4 fluid ounces. Most commonly, a total of from 8 to 12 cups are applied to the subject's back in two parallel 'vertical' columns, midway between the spine and each edge of the body, spaced about 4 inches on center within each column.

Many people enjoy being fire cupped. According to the practitioners it is neither painful nor dangerous. The sensation may feel like your skin is being pulled tightly and you can feel the suction. The jar will feel warm when it contacts the skin, when the jar is slid over your skin it may be sensitive but not uncomfortable.

Video

You can watch a video for fire cupping in www.youtube.com.