Introduction to Chinese Cupping Therapy

Introduction to Chinese Cupping Therapy Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for coming along here to listen to my presentation. I hope you will find it useful or interesting. As we all know, Traditional Chinese Medicine is a medical culture with a history of 5000 years. It has formed a deep and systematic knowledge of medical science, theory, diagnostic methods and cures. There are many aspects about traditional Chinese medicine. But in this talk, I would like to concentrate on one aspect, that is Chinese cupping therapy. My introduction is divided into 3 parts. Firstly, I would like to introduce a little about the source of cupping therapy. Secondly, I want to cover various cupping methods. And finally I would like to share some ideas about how to use a cupping set. Now let me start with the first point, The history of Chinese cupping dates back from the year 281 AD. It was an ancient medical practice and was widely used in the courts of Imperial China during those times. Its administration was first recorded by Ge Hong, who was famous during his time as an accomplished doctor. During those times, Ge Hong and other medicine men used animal horns for cupping. That is why in some countries, cupping was referred to as the horn technique of healing. Other ancient medicine men in the Arabian Desert and the Indian also used cupping technique as one of their healing methods. However, their practices in these areas were recorded at a much later time. This led researchers to believe that cupping was indeed a Chinese invention and its practice was older than stated in recorded history.
Having known something about the source of the cupping therapy, I’d now like to introduce various cupping methods. A cupping set today may consist of a dozen clear plastic cups in different sizes. The cups are strong enough to withstand the pressure during skin suction. Normally, there is a tube at the bottom of the cup which can be attached to a suction pump.