Cupping

Cupping is a kind of natural therapy and belongs to needleless acupuncture.It takes a cup as a tool to be put on certain meridians and acupoints to treat and prevent health problems.

The cup is usually made of bamboo，pottery，glass or plastic.Cupping does not break the skin，andthe patient only feels suction and gets red or purple marks.Thousands of years ago，cupping was used mainly for surgery，for example，to treat discharge pus. As time passed，cupping began to be used in treating internal illness.

The therapy has the function of dredging meridians such as warming and promoting the free flow of Qi and Blood，dispelling Cold Dampness，and diminishing swellings and pains.

Like moxibustion，cupping generally is used together with acupuncture.In clinics，the cupping method is mainly used to treat diseases caused by Wind Dampness，such as pain of the lower back，shoulders，and legs，gastrointestinal disorders such as stomachache，vomiting，and diarrhea，and respiratory ailments such as cough and asthma. The method combined with bloodletting is suitable to treat acute sprains accompanied by Blood Stasis.

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