Flash Cupping Therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Flash cupping therapy is a unique form of cupping therapy with distinct characteristics. Firstly, it has unique therapeutic effects, particularly in warming and tonifying the body, as well as dispelling wind and relieving exterior conditions. Secondly, it requires high operational skills; without proficient techniques, safe and effective treatment cannot be achieved.
Flash cupping therapy is suitable for patients with relaxed muscles, where suction is weak or where it is difficult to maintain the cups, as well as for those with local skin numbness or functional decline (deficiency syndromes). It is commonly used for conditions such as wind-cold-damp bi syndrome, pain in the lower back, shoulders, arms, and legs, joint pain, soft tissue sprains and strains, as well as for colds, headaches, coughs, asthma, stomach pain, vomiting, abdominal pain, dysmenorrhea, and post-stroke sequelae. In treating diseases with wind evil as a predominant factor, such as cervical spondylosis, facial paralysis, tinnitus, and dizziness, it can also yield good results in alleviating symptoms like mouse hand, tennis elbow, and postpartum limb soreness.
The Unique Functions of Flash Cupping:
(1) Suction Effect: Like regular cupping, flash cupping therapy utilizes the principle of negative pressure to draw the skin and flesh into the cup, which can expel pathogenic factors from the body surface, achieving the effect of dispelling evils.
(2) Warming Effect: During flash cupping, a larger flame is used, which repeatedly passes over the skin surface, providing a roasting effect on the local tissues. The hot air inside the cup also warms the local tissues, contributing to the therapeutic effect; when the bottom of the cup is heated, it can be rolled over the local tissues to disperse cold and dampness.
(3) Massage Effect: After the cup is heated, rolling techniques from Tui Na (Chinese therapeutic massage) such as rolling, pushing, wiping, kneading, and point pressing are employed, causing passive movement of the local tissues and improving blood circulation.
Applications of Flash Cupping Therapy:
Flash cupping therapy is applicable to almost all diseases except for those with excess heat and deficiency heat. Most clinical conditions are based on deficiency, with cold, dampness, and stasis as the predominant symptoms, making them suitable for flash cupping therapy.
Flash cupping therapy has a wide range of applicability. Regular cupping therapy cannot be used on the face or hairy areas due to aesthetic concerns and poor adhesion. In contrast, flash cupping does not leave cup marks and is performed quickly, allowing for the second application before the first cup is removed. Therefore, in terms of indications and the range of application sites, flash cupping therapy is more versatile.
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Contributed by: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Edited by: Party Committee Office