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 There
are several different methods of cupping. The most common method involves
placing a series of cups along the back. Before the cups can be placed, a
vacuum must be created within the cup through the use of fire or suction. If
suction is used, special cups are needed with a vacuum attachment. If the
traditional method of fire is used, there are several ways of heating the air in
the cup:
1) One can swab rubbing alcohol in the bottom
of the cup, then light it and place the cup immediately against the skin.
Once the seal is created, the immediate loss of oxygen extinguishes the fire and
prevents the person from being burned. It is best to use the least amount
of alcohol possible and to extinguish the flame as soon as possible.
2) One can hold the inside of the cup over a
flame to heat the air, and then place the cup immediately against the skin.
Be careful not to heat the glass itself. This method typically causes the
person to feel more heat than the previous method.
3) One can place a small alcohol-soaked cotton
ball on top of the person's back with a small piece of leather or insulating
material between the cotton ball and the person's skin. Then ignite a
flame on the cotton ball and immediately cover the flame with the cup.
 The first
two methods can cause the cup's glass to become heated which runs the risk of
burning the patient. With the third method, you risk the cotton falling
off the insulating pad and onto the patient's skin. When baby oil is massaged
onto the skin before treatment, it improves the seal formed between the skin and
the cup which requires less heating of the cup.
Typically bell shaped cups with a capacity of about 4 fluid
ounces are used for the procedure. 8-12 cups are applied to the subject's
back in two parallel and vertical columns that are adjacent to the spine.
Cups are placed about 4 inches apart from one another. The cups are left
on the patient's skin for around 20 minutes. The longer the cups are left
in place, the more prominent the circular mark is on the patient's back.
It is important for practitioners to not mistaken these marks for physical
abuse.
Some practitioners move the cups around on the patient's skin
while using a massaging technique. It is important to limit movement of
the cups to fleshy areas, and the movement should not cross bony ridges, such as
the spine.
Wet cupping is a form of bloodletting which involves making a
small incision on the skin prior to placing the cups on the patient's skin.
The cups are then placed on the patient's skin as described previously.
Once the cups are placed, the negative pressure within the cup causes blood to
be extracted from the skin through the incision.
Cupping can also be used in conjunction with
acupuncture in which the cups are placed over the acupuncture needles.
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