Where there's stagnation, there will be pain. Remove the stagnation, and you remove the pain"
Chinese maxim
What is cupping?
Cupping is the application of cups to the skin, using suction to draw out stagnant, congested blood and vital force as well as stagnant or morbid humours. There is either wet cupping, massage cupping or dry cupping.
Traditional healers have long recognised the association between pain and illness with conditions of stagnation, congestion and blockage. The suction applied by cupping sucks out and breaks up congestion, restoring a free flow to the vital energies and humours.
Dry cupping
Massage cupping
Massage cupping is especially useful for relieving the pain of fibromyalgia, and for treating anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, post-surgery adhesions, cellulite and a sluggish colon.
Wet cupping
Bloodletting offers the added benefits of removing toxins, excess iron and excess red blood cells from the body. Modern medical theories about bloodletting suggest that a drop in iron might help "starve" microbes and other germs, while a six-year-long study by U.S. researchers shows that regular bloodletting can help reduce the risk of death, stroke and heart attacks by half.
With wet cupping, the cup is first applied dry for a few minutes to bring the blood to the surface. Then the suction is released, and surface scratches made in the skin. The cup is then replaced and the suction will draw out small amounts of blood into the cup. This is repeated until no more blood is drawn out.
The initial dry cupping seems to act as an anaesthetic, so when the scratches are made in the skin there is no sensation of pain.
Conditions treated
- Digestive system: constipation, diarrhoea, irritable bowl syndrom (IBS)
- Nervous system: headaches, depression, emotional problems
- Gynaecological: menstrual pain, suppressed or irregular menses
- Musculo-skeletal: back pain, arthritis, traumatic injuries, lumbago, sciatica
- Respiratory: asthma, bronchitis, common cold and flu
- Circulatory: high blood pressure
- Vital: low energy, fatigue, anaemia, atrophy of the tissues, cellulite, emaciation, weight gain
Hijama in the Islamic Tradition
Al-hijamah comes from the Arabic word hajam, which means "sucking". The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him*) taught that cupping was both a cure and a blessing, and the early Muslims used it to treat numerous medical problems.
"Indeed the best of remedies you have is hijama" (Sahih al-Bukhari)
"Healing is in three things: in the incision of the cupper, in drinking honey, and in cauterizing with fire, but I forbid my nation from cauterization with fire" (Sahih al-Bukhari)
Sunnah cupping days
"Whoever performs hijama on the 17th, 19th or 21st day (of the Islamic month) then it is a cure for every disease" (Sahih Sunan abi Dawud)
The best days of the month for hijama are 17th, 19th and 21st, and the best days of the week are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, so when these days and dates coincide therapists tend to be very booked up.
If you cannot be cupped on the sunnah days, or there are no sunnah days in the month, then the best days are the closest Monday, Tuesday or Thursday. Otherwise, any Monday, Tuesday or Thursday of the month. If hijama is necessary, then it can be performed on any day of the week.
Remember, that the Islamic day starts with maghrib and hijamah is best performed during the daytime, between fajr and maghrib.
Hijama is best done on an empty stomach.
*Muslims invoke Allah's blessing on the Prophet Muhammad when his name is mentioned.