SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Traditional Chinese Medicine Technique Uses Heated Glass Cups to Heal Ills
from the Washington Post (Registration Required)
BEIJING -- Not long after I moved to China, I learned I had a case of blocked qi. A
practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine squeezed the top of my ear and informed me that the
obstruction of my qi, or life force, was caused in part by my tendency to overthink. She also
said I had some liver stagnation and a weak heart. Until that moment, I had thought I was just
fine.
The practitioner suggested I try a remedy called cupping. I'd never heard of it before I moved
to Beijing, though I had seen markings of it on others here: bright red circles across bare
shoulders and backs that look like painful tattoos or hickeys. (Several years ago Gwyneth Paltrow
caused a stir when the cut of her evening gown revealed a row of cupping marks all across her
back.)
Though cupping, a form of acupuncture, has become something of a fad in Hollywood, it is only
slowly catching on among the general public in the West. The aversion is understandable: Cupping
involves the suctioning of flesh using warm cups that typically have been heated using a flaming
stick. The heat inside the cup creates a vacuum that pulls the skin up a good inch or so in an
effort to stimulate circulation, draw out toxins and stimulate the lymphatic system. The
procedure is generally done on the back but can also be performed on the neck, legs and hips.
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