How to Do Cupping for Lymphatic Drainage?

Ancient Chinese and Egyptian practitioners of medicine developed this treatment method thousands of years ago. It involves the placement of containers made of glass, plastic, or bamboo on the patient’s skin in order to create a vacuum that draws in the tissue of the patient’s skin.

Suction cups that are put on the skin can help with the evacuation of toxins, the reduction of pain, and the enhancement of circulation.

To put it another way, if you picture a therapist applying pressure to your muscles and tissues during a massage, then cupping for lymphatic drainage is the exact opposite of what you should expect during the treatment. The therapist will use the cups to elevate the skin, as well as the tissue and the muscles underneath it. As a consequence of this, your circulation will improve, which will, in turn, make your health better.

Cupping for lymphatic drainage is an important component of this treatment since it assists in the removal of toxins and excess fluid from the body. One of the most important ways that the body gets rid of pollutants is through a process called drainage.

How do you do lymphatic cupping?

With the assistance of skilled professionals that offer lymphatic massage services, individuals are able to acquire cupping for lymphatic drainage that they may practice at home. It is possible for a doctor or another qualified medical practitioner to safely drain lymphatic fluid.

As long as a person is fine with how their body is positioned, they should be able to perform the majority of these exercises whether they are standing, sitting, or lying down.

A lymphatic massage should include the following considerations:

• Massage motions should just influence the skin, therefore don’t push so hard that you can feel the muscles working during the process.
• Relax your hands.
• Swollen or diseased regions should not be massaged.
• The regions of the body that have been treated for cancer should not be massaged at all.
• After each massage, drink at least 2–4 glasses of water to cleanse the body.
• There should be no discomfort or redness on the skin throughout the massage.
• Only the hands should be used, not any lotions or other items.

Does cupping improve lymphatic drainage?

Cupping for lymphatic drainage may be thought of as the polar opposite of typical massage, which involves the masseuse applying pressure to the client’s muscles and tissues.

The cups that the therapist will employ will exert an upward pulling force on the skin, tissues, and muscles. Because of this, your blood will flow more freely throughout your body, bringing with it a host of positive health effects.

Because it assists in the elimination of extra fluids as well as toxins from the body, it is also an effective kind of lymphatic drainage therapy. This discharge contributes to the detoxification process in some way.

How does cupping affect the lymphatic system?

Your lymphatic system takes fluid from your body, filters it, and sends it back to your bloodstream. The lymphatic system is a big part of how well your immune system works. It is made up of lymph nodes and lymph vessels that connect them.

You may boost your immune system by regularly using cupping for lymphatic drainage. The immune system’s capacity to cleanse the body and adapt to stimuli, such as illness, chemicals, stress, and electromagnetic fields, is enhanced when the lymphatic flow is increased. Your thoracic ducts might bulge if your lymph is unable to function properly.

Your hand or arm may fall asleep as a result of the increased strain on the surrounding nerves. As a result of lymph stagnation, headaches that begin in the back of your neck progress to more severe pain. Pain might radiate from the back of your sinuses all the way to the top of your head.

How do you perform lymphatic drainage on yourself?

Manual Lymph Drainage, or MLD, is a gentle skin massage that helps move extra fluid from an area that is swollen or at risk of getting swollen to an area where the lymph nodes are working well. This is done by getting the lymphatic vessels to contract.

Self-massage instructions:

• Use a light touch and keep your hands soft and relaxed. Use just enough force to gently stretch the skin as far as it can go on its own, and then let go of the force. Let your skin go back to how it used to be. If you can feel your muscles under your fingers, you are pressing too hard.
• Instead of your fingertips, use the flats of your hands. This lets the lymph vessels get more stimulation from the skin.
• Massage the parts of your body that you haven’t had cancer treatment on.
• Make sure you feel good while you are giving the massage. You can try sitting, standing, or even lying down.
• Try to massage yourself every day.
• If the message needs to be done on both sides of your body, start on one side and go through each step. When you’re done with the steps on one side, do them again on the other side.

Swelling in the abdomen, groin, and hips will cause fluid to be moved away from the place where it’s causing the swelling. Examples of these regions include the abdominal (pelvic) region, groin area, and genital region (both sides).

Additional fluid can be transferred to your underarm(s) and groin, which are unaffected by the condition.

Experiment with several techniques to incorporate self-massage into your daily practice. Because it does not interfere with the rest of their day, some individuals choose to give themselves a massage while doing something else, such as watching television or taking a shower.

Others like to incorporate self-massage into their relaxation practice so that they may have some time to focus just on themselves.

Avoid putting undue stress on your shoulders, neck, arms, or hands when exercising. Don’t self-massage in a painful way! A painful massage should be stopped immediately. Be cautious while massaging an infected region of the body.

Does cupping help lymphedema?

A potential adverse effect of breast cancer surgery and irradiation is the development of lymphedema, which is characterized by an enlargement of the soft tissues caused by an accumulation of lymph fluid.

Local negative pressure devices, such as cupping, have been utilized in Chinese alternative treatment since the second century AD and are still employed in modern Chinese medicine. Due to the fact that cupping can cause bruising and swelling as a side effect, it is not utilized to treat lymphoedema because of the danger of additional damage.

Following a session of wet cupping, a customer who had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer had a case of secondary arm lymphoedema, which was documented in a case study conducted in 2014 by Al-Reefy and Parsa Nezhad.

According to the authors of the case study, the purpose of the research was to “warn other medical professionals about the potential adverse effects of using cupping treatment in an inappropriate situation” (AlReefy and Parsa Nezhad, 2014).

Sources:
https://www.vogue.in/beauty/content/facial-cupping-method-circulation-lymphatic-drainage-benefits
https://bellareinaspa.com/cupping-chinese-lymphatic-drainage/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324518#how-to-perform
https://resolution.health/2019/04/24/surprising-benefits-of-cupping-massage/
How_to_Do_Self_Lymphatic_Massage_Lower_Body.pdf
Lymphedema Following Cupping Therapy Hijama Post Breast Cancer Surgery and Axillary Clearance