Exciting news! CoachAmyPT added cupping to our services menu!

Cupping is trending now, but its ancient origins date back to 1550 BC with the ancient Egyptians. It became widely known in modern times when Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps sported cupping’s telltale “purple dots” after receiving cupping treatment to assist his recovery and to treat muscle soreness and pain during the 2016 Olympics.

Cupping is a manual therapy technique that uses suction to elongate connective tissue such as skin, fascia, and superficial muscle layers. This process increases fluid flow within the tissues to help eliminate inflammation and pain.

Coach Amy places the acrylic cups in areas of restrictions within muscles and fascia and along seams between muscles that are not moving past each other correctly. Cupping helps treat many conditions, including tendonitis, bursitis, tension headaches, and fascial syndromes. 

Depending upon the problem, cups may remain in place for 1 to 15 minutes. Amy then manipulates the cup along restricted areas to break up adhesions and release the tissues from all directions. She combines active and passive patient movement while the cups are in place to restore proper biomechanics and function. 

Cupping is another tool in Coach Amy’s toolbox, along with dry needling, active release technique, and applied functional science. Amy finds that using cupping in conjunction with other treatment methods is helpful and uses it especially when dry needling and ART are contraindicated. Manual therapy techniques like cupping work best when incorporated into a full rehabilitation program. This includes a home exercise program to train the tissues to move correctly again so they no longer cause pain or dysfunction.

As with all physical therapy treatments, the number of treatments needed depends on a number of factors. Typically cupping is done one to three times. Tune-ups every one to six months may be needed when patients continue to perform activities that build up trauma to the tissue, such as repetitive activity for work, hobby, or sport. 

Cupping is included with your physical therapy treatment at no extra charge for both self-pay and insurance-covered patients.

Interested in adding cupping to your treatment protocol? Ask Coach Amy if this is an effective treatment for your problem at your next appointment. Not yet a patient? Our schedule is frequently full with a waitlist. If you cannot find an open appointment, please check back soon.