The Karate Kid Uses Chinese Medicine Too

A patient just told me that the Karate Kid has a scene in it where cupping is done. Cupping was first made fashionable to the masses when Gwenth Paltrow was seen with cup marks. I explained what cupping is in a previous blog. Check out the video for a live demonstration of flash cupping.

Just like in the Karate Kid many martial artists have used acupuncture, cupping, and herbal therapy to recover from injuries and fight most optimally. One of my teachers belonged to a fighting club in the 70s and they would decoct special topical herbal liniments to use in between fights to heal faster in addition to acupuncture. These very same recipes are used in our office to treat a wide variety of aliments from broken bones, swellings, arthritis, bruises, acute and chronic injuries. The most amazing story I've seen with the liniments are as follows.

A patient came in for a massage several years ago and had a 3rd degree ankle sprain. She had fallen off the train coming home from work one day and her ankle was swollen three times the size as her other ankle and was dark purple. I soaked her ankle in a liniment and did very light massage around the area. Within two days her bruises were just faint remnants and slightly yellow; she could walk without any pain.

A liniment is similar to a raw herbal formula. Instead of cooking as a tea and drinking the herbs they are slow cooked and mixed with alcohol and must sit for several months before they can be used. The longer the herbs soak like this the more potent they become. We encourage people to soak what ails them for as long as they can and to sleep with the liniment on if its possible.

I once sprained my wrist and wrapped a liniment around it. Around about 30 minutes it felt like the pain in my wrist was being drawn out and felt warm and tingly.

Sarah Zender LAc

Neighborhood Acupuncture Place (NAP)

230 Florence St

Crystal Lake IL 60014

815.983.9825

www.clnap.com 

What is Cupping?

What is Cupping?

Most cultures around the world practice some form of cupping. Originally in China fire cupping was called the "horn method" because animal horns were used to dispel pus and clear infection. As the therapy of cupping evolved in clinical practice the materials used and methods practiced also evolved to include relieving colds and coughs, all kinds of pain conditions, abdominal disturbances and repiratory issues. Natural materials like bamboo were used to perform cupping as well as glass jars.



In modern times, cupping therapy mostly uses a glass jar attached to the surface of the skin to cause local congestion through negative pressure created from a vacuum. This vacumm can be created by a heat source or a manual pump. There are several ways to cup. Flash cupping is a quick contact to the skin and release using one or two cups at a time in a specific area. This encourages blood flow to the area and can confuse the muscle to assist it in relaxing. Stationary cupping uses specific acu points where cups are left for several minutes pulling old blood and stagnation out of an area. Sliding cupping feels wonderful and helps to lengthen the muscle tissue while spreading out the fasica.

Many people remember Gwenneth Paltro's cup marks a few years back. Cupping can cause a bruise or blood stasis mark. This happens when muscles have been chronically tight or if there has been a trauma to an area. When a muscle is tight or damaged blood can not efficiently move in and out of the area due to the contricted muscles. The cup pulls this old blood up leaving the cup mark or bruise and allows space for fresh oxygen and blood to take its place and correct the problem. Over time bruising will become less and less dark until there is no longer a mark on the skin. If there is not an issue in the area cupped no mark will appear when the cup is released. Although the stasis mark can look painful people do not report feeling the tenderness of a typical bruise. Redness can also appear from cupping usually due to heat or inflammation trapped in the body. As you can see in the picture to the right a stasis mark has formed on this patient's shoulder. There is also some redness in the form of lines from sliding cupping. Most patients at Whole Health Acupuncture request cupping after receiving it for the first time. Cupping is a wonderful accessory technique to aid the benefits of acupuncture or massage therapy.

Sarah Zender LAc

Neighborhood Acupuncture Place (NAP)

230 Florence St

Crystal Lake IL 60014

815.893.9825

www.clnap.com