Cupping & Moxibustion
Cupping & Moxibustion (Moxa) are usually used as an adjuctive therapy in combination with acupuncture and massage as part of a comprehensive and individually tailored treatment plan.
What is Cupping?
Cupping is becoming increasingly popular, especially among athletes, for musculoskeletal pain and injuries. Traditionally, cupping has been used in many different cultures for a variety of pain conditions and respiratory issues.
Cupping works by creating a vacuum which physically ‘lifts’ the skin and actively decompresses the muscle tissues and promote circulation in the area. More and more people are experiencing the benefits of cupping for the release of chronic muscular tension.
Did you know?
Cupping has become increasingly popular over the last decade, especially with swimmers.
The body of evidence and research for cupping is not as large or strong as for acupuncture and massage (largely because it just has not been studied enough!) There is some evidence that cupping can relieve pain and provide therapeutic benefits through a range of different mechanisms.
However, there is a large amount of anecdotal evidence from a range of athletes, coaches and trainers that cupping improves their recovery and appears to provide some therapeutic benefit. So if its good enough for the Olympians it may be good enough for the rest of us!
What is Moxa?
Moxa (or Moxibustion) is the practice of burning the herb Moxa (Artesium Vulgaris or Mugwart) at certain acupuncture points on the body. Usually used in combination with acupuncture, the aim is to generate heat and warmth at the site of the acu-point to help improve the local circulation to the area to increase the therapeutic effect.
Moxa is commonly used to help turn breech babies in labour for which there is reasonable body of evidence. Given that Moxa is mainly used alongside acupuncture there is not as much high quality research on Moxa alone. However, there is some evidence to suggest it may be effective for some conditions.
