Cupping is a traditional Chinese therapy that’s been used for thousands of years, but it gained even more popularity in 2016 when everyone noticed that Michael Phelps had large perfectly round discolorations on his back while competing in the Olympics. Many people before that had never heard of, or never been exposed to, this type of bodywork.

During a cupping session, your therapist at Elysium Massage may use cups made of glass, silicone, or plastic and create a negative vacuum pressure with either a manual pump or our new vacu-therapy, the MM-600. We use a combination of both stationary cupping and massage cupping (moving the cups around to mimic massage). This reduces the likelihood of cupping marks being left on the skin.

Cupping creates negative pressure instead of positive pressure and increases superficial blood circulation; so instead of pushing into those tight tissues in an attempt to separate and realign fibers, those tissues are gently being pulled apart. So it’s great for scars, pain, lymphatic drainage, muscle tension, swelling and so much more. The suction in a cupping session offers a far less intense feeling of pressure and discomfort than a typical “deep” massage, but with similar effects and benefits. Countless individuals (including us!) swear to the benefits of this therapy because we’ve seen the results over and over in ourselves and others.

Whether you are wanting to try cupping for the health benefits you feel it will bring you, or because you just want to see what all the hype is about, let’s talk about your goals and what you’re comfortable with when you book your next session at Elysium Massage. You may be pleasantly surprised with how much you enjoy it!

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Kelly & Tom