Michael Phelps is the Greatest Olympic Athlete ever and he Likes Cupping!
Having won an astounding 23 gold medals in 4 consecutive olympic games he stands as the undisputed king of the pool, the most accomplished swimmer to ever grace the pool, or The G.O.A.T and he has given a huge endorsement to the practice of Cupping which has been practiced in Traditional Chinese Medicine for many centuries. Pictures of his freak of nature superhero figure who has this tremendous huge reach covered in Cupping marks have been all over the internet and the printed press since the competition entered the pool in Rio 2016.
Unless you’re living under a rock you have probably seen these and have had chats about it with your friends and family or at work, so even though we had other plans for what we were going to publish this week, there was no way we could ignore this huge piece of news, which is as good as gold, pun intended 🙂
The comparisons to the K-Tape from London 2012 or those bracelets from Athens, what were they magnetic? or something like that anyway are understandable, of course they are, but thats all good, we got Cupping in the Olympics and that, i just have to hold myself from swearing, is brilliant!
Even though athletes and olympians from the USA and Aussie Teams who get acupuncture regularly have been using and promoting cupping even before the Beijing Olympics 2008 this acupuncture technique has never got as much mainstream coverage since Gwyneth Paltrow showcased her cupping marks at red carpet event back in the early 2000’s.
So here’s a chance to read a little bit about the art of cupping, and i will definitely add it to the running themes to feature some cool cupping studies and stories.
Why Athletes Use Cupping Therapy?
Cupping is a integral part of acupuncture treatment and is practised in the acupuncture clinic usually to treat conditions such as shoulder pain, back pain, neck pain, muscle soreness, muscle stiffness which is why athletes love it so much. Basically if you like massage you’re probably going to like cupping. It very safe and effective way of reducing pain and improving circulation using the vacuum to create suction which keeps the cups on the body for 5-15 minutes as the case may be.
The main focus of the stories had been on the bruises, the circular black and blue marks on the bodies of Michael Phelps and the rest of the swimmers in the team. These marks usually only last for short while ranging from a few days to a couple weeks depending on the person, but unlike bruises they do not hurt and are not tender to touch, and they allow you better range of motion rather than inhibit mobility.
If you’re not an Olympic athlete but just cycle to work or run on the towpath by the Putney Embankment, and you’re wondering: ‘Can cupping help me with my aches and pains, bad posture or stiffness in the morning?’ just give it a try and find out for yourself.
There are a number of different types of cups and techniques used. Traditional cups were made of Bamboo, although nowadays the standard cups are either glass or plastic. The ones you’ve seen on Michael Phelps are the plastic cups with a suction gun looking attachment. The glass cups are also known as fire-cups because we use the flame to create the suction. a popular method is the moving-cups which will create long marks along the muscles rather than the circular ones.
Ancient Greece Meets Ancient China
In my mind I can’t help but thinking of the ancient origins of the modern Olympic Games dating back to 776 B.C, the Olympiad In Ancient Greece, and how we’re using once ancient traditional medicine from China in a sporting event that is just as ancient… and while we’re entertaining those thoughts and images of greek heroes battling in the arena to please gods and goddesses I wonder if this whole Cupping thing is more than just the new hip remedial sports massage technique for our athletes.
Maybe these athletes are tapping into an old fighting traditions in the americas where braves would go to battle they would cover there skin with war paint and blood to show there courage, or maybe these marks are the warrior wounds to demonstrate their pain and sacrifice, or maybe its just part of the game. whatever the reasons, cupping works and its here to stay.
by the way, I cannot sign off without giving a shout out and a huge congrats to Team GB for their incredible performances on Super Sunday with 5 Gold medals!!! Mo Farah, Max Whitlock, Andy Murray, Jessica Ennis and the rest of the team, we salute your efforts!
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Thanks to Janet and her team for the images.
