What is Cupping and How Can it Help Me? 

Cupping has been used in many healing traditions across the world, and by families over many generations. What was once a bamboo cup is now plastic, glass but can still be bamboo. Gwenyth Paltrow made a splash by showing off her cup marks at an event years ago. Do you remember that?

Cupping can be used for general muscle tension and to relax, but that isn't all it can do. Cupping, done correctly, can help chronic pain and dramatically reduce the number of treatments needed to be pain free.

What Is Cupping?

Cups are placed on the area of pain or tension. The air in the cup is then removed either with a flame or suction. If a flame is used, it's then placed on the targeted body area. If a vacuum pump is used, it's place on the body and then the suction pump is used to remove the air and create a vacuum.

What happens next? The toxins and cellular waste trapped in the muscle tissue is brought to the surface of the skin, where the body can more easily remove it from the body. When there is tension, pain or trauma, it is difficult to promote healing as the cellular waste products can't exit the affected area. With cupping, that cellular waste is not only removed from the area, but new blood flow is brought to the area to assist healing.

The end result? If there is blockage and cellular waste, there is a coloring of the skin. If there is no tension, there will be no discoloration. The more tension and cellular waste, the more color is seen. Sometimes, cupping marks are dark purple. I'm always glad when this happens, as I know my patient will be feeling better soon!

Sometimes you have to see it for yourself. You can move a cup (when olive oil is put on the skin first) from one side of the spine to the other. On one side, there is hard suction, and when moved to the other side, there is almost no suction. There is no tension on the side with no suction. If two cups are left on each side for 10 min, you would see a coloring from light red to dark purple color form on the side with tension and no coloration on the other side.

How Can it Help Me?

Cupping can help speed your recovery from an acute or chronic condition resistant to other treatment modalities. What may take 5+ treatments to heal can be done in 1-2. This is the case with jaw pain, migraines, neck pain, back pain, hip pain and many other areas of pain and dis-ease.

If you can handle a little color, you can experience freedom from pain. How does that sound? If you'd like to add cupping to your healing regimen, give me a call; I'd be happy to help.

Yours in Health,

Kara

Kara Sorensen, MS, LAc
Acupuncture by Kara
15066 Los Gatos-Almaden Rd
Suite 200
Los Gatos, CA
e: kara(at)karasorensen.com
p: 408.805.5272 (KARA)
p: 800.514.1406

Acupuncture Helps Severe Jaw Pain and Other Health Concerns

Here's a testimonial a patient who wrote about her experience with Acupuncture and how it has helped her not just relieve severe TMJ, but many other health concerns:

"Kara does acupuncture. Kara does nutrition. Kara does TAT. Kara saves the world. Well, almost.

I started going to Kara in the fall of 08 for TMJ issues. This was not a normal clicking jaw irritation TMJ-this was painful, jaw splitting, ear piercing, gruesome, go-ahead-and-kill-me-now pain that woke me up in the mornings. I cannot stress to you how much the pain incapacitated me. After 3 weeks of treatment 2 days a week I was virtually pain-free. Wow. Now that's amazing.

I've continued to see Kara, because I realized other things about my health were improving as well. Problems that I have had for my entire adult life and had decided to just put up with. Kara is caring, honest and down to earth. She will tell you what she can help you with and what she thinks you need to see a western physician for.

One example: My digestive system has always been a little iffy. Just not happy. Kara treated me with a few very inexpensive herbs, a few dietary suggestions and weekly acupuncture. I feel better than I have in 10 years.

I have been a Pepsi addict since I first drank the stuff.  I would drink 5+ Pepsi's a day. Well, I know it's not good for my weight or my cholesterol. Kara introduced me to TAT. I truly didn't believe in it. However- I have had several TAT sessions and although I still drink Pepsi, I only drink one a day. Also, I have greatly decreased my sugar intake, started cooking, exercising and enjoying life again. Hmmm, could it be the TAT?

Really, no one wants to admit they have any mental issues on yelp, but I'll go ahead and admit that I've had my share of difficulties. Acupuncture and TAT have helped me tremendously with that as well. Honestly, my life has done a 180 since I started seeing Kara.  There aren't words to express the difference going to Kara has made on my life. I just want you to know that there's hope. For pain, for diet, for mental health. It's worth every penny.

Kara Sorensen. My hero. Really."

Mary P.,
Pittsburg, CA

If you're in pain, or otherwise not feeling 100%, consider Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine as an option for your relief. If you have cravings for Pepsi or other food cravings, check out my website for solutions that can even be done over the phone. If you live near Los Gatos, CA, I would be happy to help you with Acupuncture. If you need a referral in your area, check out the referral list for Acupuncturists here. Either way, don't just live with the pain, find relief!

Yours in Health,

Kara Sorensen, MS, LAc

Acupuncture by Kara &
The Food Craving Solution

15066 Los Gatos-Almaden Rd
Suite 200
Los Gatos, CA

e: kara(at)karasorensen.com
p: 800.514.1406