The Purple Dot Craze At The Summer Games
Have you noticed the purple, bruise-like trend among the Rio 2016 Olympic athletes? It’s cupping! From swimming to track and field, athletes of the summer games are using a form of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to lift and separate the soft tissue allowing for greater fluid movement and nutrient supply throughout the soft tissues. The combination of suction, massage, and stretching helps nourish, stimulate and increase muscle range of motion while also helping the athletes recover quicker from exertion.
How It Works
The alternative therapy uses fist-sized cups, either glass or plastic, which are suctioned to the skin. The cups have small valves that attach to a hand-held suction pump, which vaccums air from the cup. Cups can also be heated to create a vacuum. Cups are typically left in place for about 5 – 10 minutes. The vacuum sucks the skin into the cup, seprating it from the tissue below. The purple, bruise-like marks appear because the suction can cause the blood vessels in the skin to rupture. Cupping can be beneficial for treating everything from pain in the muscles, tendons and ligaments to helping weekend warriors recover quicker from their latest adventure.
Is It For You?
So if it’s good enough for Michael Phelps, is it good enough for you? Yes! Cupping has numerous benefits for everyone, no matter your Olympic medal aspirations. It can help remove toxins from the body by stimulating the lymphatic system. It can also be beneficial for anyone suffering from flu, cold, cough, back and muscle pain, poor circulation, anxiety, skin conditions, allergies, fever, aches and pains, and breathing disorders.
Olympic Cupping SPECIAL!
To celebrate the Olympic cupping trend, for a limited time only we are offering a FREE cupping add-on to any regular acupuncture appointment. Call 303.688.6698 today to schedule or click here.
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