Cupping at the Olympics

Albany Times Union —August 19, 2016

Albany Times Union writer Carin Lane reports on cupping therapy used by Olympic athletes.

Robert Turner PT, OCS, MS, OM, PMA®-CPT, a physical therapist at Hospital for Special Surgery, explains the main cupping techniques: "Fire cupping is where glass bulbs of various sizes are heated internally with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol and when lit, passed into the cup for a few seconds and quickly placed on the skin. The vacuum created by the inside of the cup cooling pulls the skin and tissues into the cup. An alternative is to use a suction cup where a plunger is applied to the end of the cup that has a one way valve on the end. As the plunger is pumped, vacuum is created and pulls the tissues into the cup. Running Cupping is where the cups are now moved over the skin to treat a larger area and may leave longer purple tracks along the treated area."

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