For a few days, the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have been bustling with activity, and attentive viewers will notice that in events such as swimming and gymnastics, American swimmer Phelps and others have obvious cupping marks on their shoulders as well as their backs, while they are also seen in news clips receiving cupping treatments. What exactly is the effect of traditional Chinese cupping on athletes who train intensely? And by what mechanism does it work? According to the literature, cupping has been practiced in China for at least 2,000 years, and was used by doctors in the sixth century B.C. to treat patients. Cupping therapy in ancient texts called “horn method”, because in ancient times, doctors were using animal horns as a suction tool. Later, with the development of human society, cupping tools gradually improved, to the Sui and Tang dynasties began to use sharpened bamboo jars to replace the animal horn. In the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties, the bamboo jar has completely replaced the animal horn. The name of cupping therapy, also by the “suction tube method” replaced the “horn method”, but at this time the cupping method is mainly boiling method (put the can into hot water and boil for about 15 minutes, remove the bamboo can with tweezers, pour dry the liquid in the can, quickly clasp the can with a cool towel, immediately put the Can buckle in the cupping area, that can be adsorbed on the skin). During the Qing Dynasty, clay jars were made and the term “fire jar” was formally introduced. This type of cupping method is now the mainstream use of the fire method. At the same time, a change in the past to the focal area as the cupping site, the use of suction cupping points to improve the therapeutic effect. Since the reform and opening up, with the rapid development of China’s economy and people’s living standards continue to improve, more people began to care about health care, cupping therapy, a traditional, natural physical therapy again by the public’s favorite. This method is especially popular with athletes, one is that after exercise cupping jars will indeed be very comfortable, more importantly, this treatment process is not the slightest pain, is a complete enjoyment. So, does cupping have real value for athletes to recover from fatigue and even heal injuries? Is there a scientific basis for it? The answer is yes. For competitive athletes, high-intensity training and competition are commonplace, and regardless of the sport, there is bound to be strong contraction of skeletal muscles during training or competition, otherwise it is impossible to complete high-quality movements. When the muscle is in a state of tension, the blood vessels running through the middle of the muscle are bound to be compressed, the lumen will be narrowed or temporarily occluded, local blood circulation will be blocked, and this situation may lead to temporary ischemia of the tissue. At the same time, the constant movement of muscles will produce a large number of metabolites such as lactic acid and retained in the muscles, thus causing the body to feel fatigue, and in severe cases or when just starting recovery training will also produce soreness, cupping can help in these situations? In recent years, researchers have conducted some experimental studies on traditional treatments such as cupping, and the results show that the negative pressure stimulation on the body surface generated during treatment and the resulting specific changes in local tissue structure are the basis for the therapeutic effects of cupping. Cupping is performed by using alcohol to burn out the air inside the jar, creating a negative pressure inside the jar so that it can be absorbed on the surface of the body (usually in areas with thick muscles), which has two effects: first, the soft muscles are sucked into the jar by the strong negative pressure (the larger the jar the more muscles are sucked in), which stretches the muscle fibers in this area (this stretching is completely within the safe range Secondly, the strong negative pressure attraction can make the blood in the surrounding tissues flow rapidly to the cupping center, increasing the perfusion of blood to the cupping area, and this increase in perfusion is “precisely guided” by the doctor, the blood only flows to the cupping area, supplying only the most needed area, and the blood is only supplied to the cupping area. After cupping is over, the gathered blood spreads rapidly and flows back to the lungs and heart through the veins and takes away the lactic acid and other metabolic waste accumulated in the muscles. Therefore, it is logical that cupping can promote recovery from sports fatigue and even treat soft tissue injuries. Research also shows that cupping can also increase the body’s pain threshold, so that the body’s pain tolerance is enhanced, which allows athletes with minor injuries and illnesses to reduce the discomfort caused by exercise during competition. All of these aspects have the potential to make the athletes’ physical condition better, which is certainly beneficial to their training and competition. Since cupping has so many benefits, is it suitable for everyone? The answer is obviously no. Clinically, patients with bleeding tendencies, swelling, skin lesions and ulcers are not suitable for cupping, and those who are too thin may not be lucky enough to enjoy cupping, because thin muscles may cause the canister to be unable to absorb. In addition, the distribution of large blood vessels and scars are also not suitable for cupping. So is cupping better the longer it takes? Note: Never! We often see that some patients have blisters on their cupped areas, and they say that this is the result of pulling out the “dampness” and seem to enjoy it. Separation, is not worth advocating, especially in the summer, once the blisters burst, it is easy to cause infection. In addition, what about the purple marks we see with cupping? Is a purple mark a good thing? This is also a misconception. We need to know how the purple mark of cupping appears: as mentioned earlier, the negative pressure attraction during cupping will lead to a rapid increase in blood perfusion, which will inevitably lead to rapid passive expansion of the blood vessels in the area, this expansion of the blood vessels are mostly small capillaries, in older people or people who lack exercise, the brittleness of the capillaries on the body surface may increase, so that when the blood is rapidly perfused in will cause A part of the capillaries rupture thus leading to subcutaneous bleeding, which is the truth of the formation of purple marks. So whether there is a purple mark should let nature take its course, it is okay to appear, but do not have to pursue must appear purple mark. This mark will generally fade automatically in a week or so, in addition, the cupping room must pay attention to keep warm so as not to catch a cold, cupping patients are instructed not to move the position, so as not to fall off the tank. When cupping, the patient should be observed at all times, and in case of pain or discomfort, the negative pressure should be adjusted immediately or the canister should be reabsorbed. Therefore, try to go to the hospital for professional help if conditions allow, in order to achieve the purpose of treatment safely and effectively.