Cupping Course

This site informed me the course can now be ordered.
I have no affiliation just correspondence.

http://www.bestcuppingtreatment.com/


It seems there is a gray area somewhere and bloodletting your 'pal' ..
may .. not be illegal.
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Houston Chronicle
November 14, 2004

People in pain turn to cupping therapy
By TODD ACKERMAN


William Poole lies face down, his upper back peppered with small jars
that suck up skin turned red underneath them.


One by one, Dr. Joseph Chiang removes the jars, lights a quickly
extinguished flame in them and swiftly applies the jars to other
spots. He does it effortlessly, like a master illusionist performing
sleight of hand.


"That feels better," says Poole at the end. "I feel looser already."


The therapy is an ancient Chinese one called cupping, but if the scene
conjures up images of a dark room in an unfamiliar neighborhood, think
again. It occurred at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center, epitome of the conventional cancer-care establishment.


Place ... of Wellness, M.D. Anderson's integrative medicine program,
offers unconventional care, from meditation to yoga to aromatherapy.
But for many people, cupping has become a therapy of choice, suddenly
trendy after actress Gwyneth Paltrow's high-profile use of it earlier
this year.


Used by acupuncturists in China since the third century B.C., cupping
is considered most beneficial for back pain and stiff shoulders
because it increases circulation and the mobility of affected areas.
But it's also pronounced good for digestive and respiratory disorders
and sports injuries.


For cancer patients such as Poole, it eases the discomfort that can
come with chemotherapy and radiation.


Massagelike effects


Cupping may look like medieval alchemy, but its effect is similar to
that of an intense, vigorous massage. Suction created by the cups
pulls the skin up and increases blood flow. Patients describe the
feeling as a pulling of the skin.


Practitioners remove oxygen from the cups and create negative pressure
with fire, the old way, or suction, the new way. In the latter, vacuum
guns inserted into valves on top of the cups remove oxygen and create
a seal.


The effect from fire is considered stronger, but Chiang must use
vacuum guns at M.D. Anderson because fire codes prohibit the use of
flames. (As a demonstration last week, he used the fire technique on
Poole, who was quick to note the difference.)


"The great thing about it is that it relieves pain without any side
effects," says Chiang, a Taiwan-born, U.S.-trained anesthesiologist
who also is a licensed acupuncturist. "And it lasts for weeks."


The closest thing to a side effect is the bruises cupping can leave.


Indeed, Paltrow stirred interest because she wore a strapless dress to
a movie premiere revealing dark, circular marks across her back.
Someone called them "the hickey marks seen around the world."


Chiang says he minimizes the bruising by removing the jars after a
couple of minutes and reapplying them elsewhere, unlike most
therapists, who'll typically leave them in the same spot for 15 to 20
minutes.


That often leaves red or purple bruises for a week or more.


But even with the bruising, cupping doesn't cause pain. Most patients
say they enjoy the feeling, Chiang says.


And if little scientific study has been done on cupping, it is
nevertheless being accepted by physicians, as well as patients, as an
effective means of pain control, Chiang says.


He also notes that acupuncture and cupping are so much more effective
for tennis elbow than steroid injections that they've become his
preferred treatment option.


Training in Taiwan


Chiang has been cupping people since training as an acupuncturist in
Taiwan in 1996. He started using it on M.D. Anderson patients in 1998
— though interest has never been as keen as now.


Among Chiang's first cupping patients was Jeanne Brelsford, who was
diagnosed with advanced sarcoma in 1998.


She's had regular acupuncture and cupping sessions for relief of pain
after surgery to remove five ribs and half of her left lung.


"The first time cupping was described to me, it seemed quite odd,"
says Brelsford, who four years later was diagnosed with lymphoma.


"But at that point I was ready to try anything, and now I love it.
I'll always have some pain, but now it's livable, and I have to take
far less pain medication."


Chiang is a minority among physician-acupuncturists, according to the
American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, an organization of Western
physicians trained in acupuncture.


Most such doctors do not do cupping, an organization spokesman said.


From animal horn to glass


Although forms of it are found in many old Western cultures too,
cupping is first and foremost a practice of traditional Chinese
medicine. The first cups were animal horns, and the next generation
were made of bamboo or pottery. Only in the 20th century were the
current glass cups developed.


Depending on how many cups are applied, cupping can take anywhere from
15 minutes to an hour and costs from $50 to $100. At M.D. Anderson's
Place ... of Wellness, where Chiang usually uses it in conjunction
with acupuncture — patients must be from M.D. Anderson — it costs
$65.
To Chiang's patients, it's worth it.


"I think cupping should be an integral part of cancer treatment,"
says
Poole, a tongue cancer survivor whose treatment caused soreness of
the
neck and shoulder twitching. "It's made a world of difference for
me."


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Who loves ya.
Tom


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