What Cupping Actually Does (and What It Doesn’t)

By Dr. Andrew Kakishita, DC | Pleasant Grove, UT Chiropractor

Those round bruises are not toxins leaving your body. Here is what is actually happening.

What Cupping Actually Is

Cupping uses a cup and suction to create negative pressure against your skin. Instead of pressing down into the tissue like massage does, it pulls the skin and the tissue layer just underneath it upward, away from the muscle beneath. That pulling motion is called myofascial decompression, and it is the opposite of most other hands-on techniques you have probably experienced.

What Actually Causes the Marks

The circular marks people associate with cupping are not toxins being drawn out through your skin. They happen because the suction can rupture tiny capillaries under the skin, the same kind of thing that causes a bruise. It looks dramatic, but it is a normal, harmless response, and it usually fades within a week or so.

What the Suction Actually Does

The negative pressure appears to temporarily increase blood flow to the area and may help loosen tight, restricted layers of fascia and muscle. Some research also suggests it can raise your pain threshold in the treated area, which is part of why it often feels like relief afterward, especially over chronically tight or overworked muscles.

What Cupping Is Not

Cupping is not a detox tool, and it does not pull toxins out of your body through your skin. It is also not a stand-alone cure for a structural problem like a herniated disc or a true joint restriction. It works best as one part of a broader treatment plan, not the whole plan by itself.

How We Use It

At Kinetic Chiropractic, we use cupping alongside adjustments and other soft tissue work, mainly to help loosen tight, restricted muscle and fascia so the rest of your treatment can be more effective.
If you have seen those cupping marks on athletes and been curious what is actually behind them, now you know. Curious if it would help your specific issue? Ask us at your next visit.