So what is cupping? Cupping therapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses special cups to create suction. This causes stagnant blood to move to the skin surface (creating the purple marks you typically associate with cupping). Uses include treating muscle stiffness or pain, asthma, digestive orders, poor circulation, and can even aid in weight loss. Cupping can be highly therapeutic and healing.

Cupping at Healthworks

We offer two types of cups, massage (silicone) and accucups (glass, applied with a pump – we DO NOT do fire cupping).

We even got some of our front desk and personal training staff hooked.

“I did facial cupping first and loved how it made my skin and sinuses feel! Then, my massage therapist suggested using the cups on my back, glutes and calves because everything was so tight. It was like getting a deep tissue massage without the pain! I’ve been hooked ever since- it feels amazing.”-Alex, Front Desk

“As a migraine sufferer, and someone who has lived with chronic back (scoliosis) and neck pain her entire life, I am always interested in trying different methods of alternative medicine to find relief. I didn’t know much about cupping until my massage therapist told me she was getting trained in it and that she thought it would be helpful for me. My muscles requires deep-tissue intensity massage in order to reach through to them; sometimes this is difficult to do, due to the tenderness of the muscles that are in pain. Cupping has been an amazing tool in order to bring about a gentler form of relief for the muscles, by creating a release that then allows my massage therapists better access to the deeper muscles. I realized just how incredible cupping was when my massage therapists used them on my quads – I had been wincing in discomfort when she tried to massage them. She used the cups on them, and was then able to go deeper into the muscles without any wincing. For me, the combination of cupping and deep tissue massage has truly been life changing. Sure, I still have back and neck pain, but it has given me greater insight into understanding the tension in my body, and how to work with a massage therapist for the betterment of my well being.”-Marissa- Front Desk

“I have always had issues with my shoulders and back, especially on the right side of my body. Every morning for at least the last 2 years, if not more, I would wake up, maybe not with pain, but with a definite awareness of the area between my neck and right shoulder. I would get deep tissue massage, roll it out with a lacrosse ball when it got particularly bad, and while the awareness might have loosened or dissipated it always came back within a few days. Six weeks ago I had my first cupping massage with Cayce. It definitely felt different and some sensations were a little odd compared to what I was used to, but over the next few days I realized my constant companion in my shoulder was gone. And it hasn’t come back despite several challenging workouts, some of which contained a lot of overhead work (which used to be a guarantee of pain). As a trainer, I highly recommend cupping massage to my clients and on a personal level will only use cupping massage for myself in the future.”-Kristin, Personal Trainer

Interested in cupping at Healthworks? Learn more here.