02/27/2026
In my training and professional experience, I’ve seen cupping do some extraordinary things, like breaking up a large adhesion in a client’s back I’d been working on weekly for over a month (which also significantly reduced her pain) and helping an athletic client regain full range of motion in their ankle and foot after a calcaneal tendon tear. Each time I’ve seen great results from cupping, it has been in the context of recovering from an injury or dealing with an adhesion that is causing the client pain. Cupping outside of these contexts appears to have no significant impact on outcomes at best, and at worst it can interrupt, annoy, hurt, or otherwise pull the client out of parasympathetic relaxation.
I’m sure those that disagree with me would argue that a therapeutic massage isn’t necessarily meant to be relaxing, but I disagree with that assertion because our nervous system is inextricably tied into our fascia and musculature, and our nervous system literally sets the tone in our bodies. So if cupping is painful enough for the client to tense up and guard, just as in other forms of bodywork, it’s most likely doing more harm than good.
I wrote a blog about this: http://rosequartzwellnesstn.com/blog-2/hot-take-cupping-should-be-an-informed-therapeutic-decision-not-an-add-on22026
