Michael Phelps caused a raucous around cupping therapy when he showed up to a race during the olympics with dark circles on his shoulders and back.
Right away my social feed was stuffed with people talking about cupping, pictures and videos of people being cupped, and it became what all the cool kids were doing. This led to people asking my thoughts on cupping therapy and I answered with, “I don’t have any thoughts because I never did it.”
This made me curious to learn more and find someone in Hawaii who practiced this method of alternative medicine.
One person continuously popped up on my feed, Evette Henry L.Ac. of On Point Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. I saw her working on Crossfit athletes, weightlifters, and coaches. Plus, she throws weight around herself too.
I reached out to her and made scheduled my first visit not knowing what to expect. To be honest, I was a bit nervous but intrigued at the same time. When I arrived at Evette’s house (update: she recently got the keys to her new office), I began thinking, “What if I get burnt? What if my skin rips open?” Yes, I know what you are thinking, Really?.
Anyways.
What I appreciated about Evette during my first visit was that she made me feel very calm. She shared with me the idea around Qi which I related to what Hawaiians think of Mana. When she asked, “Have you ever done cupping before?” I shared that I never have and have been on a search for something to help my range of motion in my right shoulder and the tightness in my neck.
Before we started the treatment, she felt the pulse in my wrists and began to assess my stress levels and sleep. “Do you feel stressed?” she asked.
“Ya, kinda,” I replied.
“And sleep? Not that good lately?”
I smiled and said, “Well, I do have a one year old.” She continued to share more about what she sensed by just the pulse in my wrists. All I could do was nod.
I thought to myself, “Okay, unless she did some snooping around, she’s got me pinpointed.”
Treatment Begins
I laid face down on a massage table and could feel the warmth from of the flame followed by a glass cup pressed against my back acting like a silent vacuum. She sets flame to a cotton ball with alcohol and places it inside of the glass cup which then creates a negative pressure for it to attach to the skin.
When asked how does cupping work? Evette said, “Cupping helps to promote blood flow and decrease swelling by creating space within muscles and tissues to allow oxygen, healthy cells, and new blood flow to a specific area,”
Several cups were now attached to my back and I felt her moving the cups up along my spine, over to my shoulder, and up to my neck. I could feel the suction and at no point did I experience any pain. “The suction effect,” Evette said, “breaks up toxins such as metabolic waste to facilitate proper circulation within the body.”
If you’ve seen images or videos of cupping, I’m sure you’ve see the difference coloration that comes after. At the end of my cupping treatment, I was unaware of what my back looked like. I felt as if I did pretty well since it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Just look at my picture at the top of this article.
“The type of bruising from the cups is different from bruises caused by blunt force,” Evette mentioned, “cupping doesn’t break up soft tissue, so you won’t see that blue/yellow cycle you would find in common bruising.”
Evette Henry shared:
The color of bruising from the cups depends on how well your body is able to circulate blood:
– Pale to pink = ideal blood circulation
– Fresh red = acute inflammation
– Dark red = toxins that are inhabiting the body at a deeper level that can contribute to pain/stiffness/illness.
Another thing I appreciated about Evette was her honesty about how you won’t achieve drastic results after one session, just like everything – it takes time. Not only did I experience some nice circles that made my wife question what exactly happened to me, but my range of motion in my shoulder had improved as well for several days following.
The Takeaway
Along with the cupping treatment, Evette also does acupuncture which was also a first for me. The two needles in the forehead took me by surprise (supposedly calming points) but I thought the whole thing was cool especially when she explained what each point was connected to.
According to Evette, “cupping therapy is really a supplementary modality to support acupuncture and Chinese medicine.”
She shared that, “Acupuncture works to improve the flow of oxygen, nutrients, and blood flow to nourish the body,” and continued, “The use of needles helps to dilate blood vessels and stimulates the nervous system to decrease pain (through the release of opioids) and initiate the body’s natural healing process.”
It is refreshing to come across an alternative medicine practitioner who really wants to educate others about cupping therapy, acupuncture, and Chinese Medicine. Like anything, it takes an open mind as well as time to allow a treatment or therapy to take its course before you jump to conclusions or make assumptions.
If you are interested in learning more or scheduling you first visit with Evette, you can visit her site OnPointOahu.com, or follow her on Instagram @onpoint_acu.
Watch the first 2:45 of KUVIBES 004 for a little more thoughts about my visits with On Point Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.
