Can at-home cupping therapy help your aches and pains?

Cupping is an alternative therapy which uses suction to increase blood flow and potentially reduce pain. As well as getting cupping done by a professional, there’s a growing range of at-home cupping devices now available, ranging from silicon cups to smart electronic powered devices.

They claim to offer the benefits at home; helping with pain reduction, increased circulation and relaxation, but how do they work and are they effective and safe to use?

Cupping has been practised for thousands of years and can be traced back to ancient Chinese and Egyptian medicine. In recent years, cupping became famous as a form of alternative medicine, thanks to the red marks it can leave and celebrity fans like Michael Phelps, Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Glass, plastic or silicon cups are placed onto the skin for several minutes creating suction on localised areas. It’s thought this encourages blood flow to improve circulation and reduce pain, although there is no firm consensus on how it works and research has found no single theory that can explain the full effects of cupping.

While it’s popular, there’s only a limited amount of scientific evidence on the benefits of cupping. A study in 2023 found it can be useful to decrease pain levels and improve blood flow to affected areas with low adverse effects and a study from 2018 found it is a promising method for the treatment of chronic back pain in adults.

At-home cupping devices come in various forms. Silicon or plastic cups are often sold in packs of varying sizes and work by creating suction, which pulls the skin away from the connection tissue, also known as fascia, creating space between the skin and muscle. “This void allows blood sitting in deeper tissue to come to the surface,” says Dr Tom Ingegno acupuncturist and author of The Cupping Book: Unlocking the Secret of Ancient Healing. “Fresh blood with oxygen and nutrients floods the muscle, allowing for repair.”

“The suction also causes smaller capillaries in the skin to rupture, causing the tell-tale circular bruising commonly associated with cupping therapy. This bruising keeps the body in repair mode as the body has to repair these small capillaries and continue fresh blood flow to the area days after the treatment,” he says.

As well as these types of cups, there are smart digital devices with additional features like the TheraCup which combines cupping with heat and vibration. “The modern, digital devices, usually controlled via an app, claim to offer several advantages over traditional cupping methods. Although these vary from brand to brand it usually relates to the ability to objectively control the strength, switch between a massage or a vacuum effect, being highly portable and even offering red light therapy,” says sports performance coach Arj Thiruchelvam.

Cupping is low risk, but it’s not suitable for everyone, especially pregnant people, cancer patients and those with organ failure, pacemakers, bleeding disorders or cardiovascular disease.

While they can be more convenient and include more features, DIY cupping won’t offer the same experience as visiting a professional. “When you are treated by a professional your body is going to be in a more relaxed state versus trying to place the cups yourself,” says acupuncturist Dr Natazia zu Stolberg. “Seeing an acupuncturist for cupping also means that the cups can be used for more than just pain. Using Chinese Medicine theory there are areas of the back that can be utilised to help support immunity, asthma, cough, digestion and more.”

 Cupping is known as a complementary treatment and Thiruchelvam believes that cupping devices do have a place but they should be used as an additional bonus to other methods. “Sleep, nutrition, light cardiovascular work and regular stretching all seem to have a more solid evidence-base for recovery,” he says.

If you do want to try cupping therapy at home, start by keeping it short and sweet, around five minutes to ensure minimal bruising, says Ingegno. “You can always add the cups back on if the treatment is tolerated well.”

You should avoid any open wounds, lesions and areas like the back of the knee as the tissue has a large blood vessel close to the surface, says Ingegno. “I would not recommend cupping over any area with lymph nodes so be sure to educate yourself especially when cupping around the neck or front of the shoulder,” Stolberg says.

When done correctly cupping should never be painful, says Stolberg. “The mark that is left from the cup will likely darken in the first 24 hours and they should resolve within seven days. If you have cup marks that are lasting longer than seven days, too much suction was applied.”