# Cupping. You know that thing athletes do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512 "2024-08-10T02:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/1 "2024-08-10T02:53:57Z")
Does anybody know if it’s woo or real? Any experiences? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/2 "2024-08-10T02:59:08Z")
It seems to be absolute bullshit, based on what we _used_ to believe about how the human body operates. I have found numerous somewhat reputable websites that use weasel words like “people say”, “people believe”, “it is said” etc. but I can’t really find one that is enthusiastic about the practice. [Cupping therapy - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupping_therapy) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/3 "2024-08-10T03:07:56Z")
Are you looking at relief for a specific ailment? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/4 "2024-08-10T03:16:25Z")
No. Just curious. I’ve always found bruising to have its own pain. I can’t see how relief of one thing makes the next pain of less value(eh). I saw an Italian athlete that had the tell-tale bruise on his shoulder. Deep purple. I thought “dang, that’s gotta be sore” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/5 "2024-08-10T03:24:39Z")
I saw the marks on one person and I asked what they were. She said that it was the aftereffect of cupping and said that it removed toxins. Me: “Did a doctor or nurse say you had any specific toxins that needed to be removed?” She: “No.” Me: “Did the person doing the cupping tell what toxins were being removed?” She: “No.” Me: “Did the person doing the cupping show you any toxins that came out” She: “No.” Me: “If I use a small cup to put bruises all over your body, how much will you pay me?” She: “Fuck off.” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/6 "2024-08-10T13:22:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Cupping is nothing more than an ancient medical practice based on a prescientific understanding of the body and disease, much like bloodletting and treatments based on the four humors. > **[What's the harm? Cupping edition](https://www.respectfulinsolence.com/2016/07/01/whats-the-harm-cupping-edition/)** > > There are so many ridiculous alternative medicine treatments being “integrated” via “integrative” medicine into medicine, no matter how ridiculous they are, that it’s not only hard to believe, but it’s hard to keep track. Homeopathy is, of course,... Athletes are among the most gullible in relation to “alternative” health treatments. In an effort to get an edge, they characteristically fall for modalities that are at best useless and at worst actively harmful. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/7 "2024-08-10T14:22:47Z")
Just because professional athletes do it does not make it scientifically valid and not woo. Athletes seem to be into every variety of woo going. In not sure why. My guess is state of mind and confidence are so important that the placebo affect of these kind of things is actually fairly valuable (or they and their coaches think it is). Also presumably the makers of these kind of shams put a lot of effort into convincing athletes to use them. Knowing that people will see them and assume they are actually medically valid ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/8 "2024-08-10T14:34:26Z")
You can bet that use of woo is widespread [among Olympic athletes](https://theconversation.com/olympic-athletes-excel-at-their-sports-but-are-susceptible-to-unproven-alternative-therapies-165377). Tom Brady was also notorious in this regard, for example in regard to diet claims. Even modalities that don’t sound like obvious woo, such as [use of platelet-rich plasma to treat soft tissue injuries](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36532150/) and [stem cell treatments](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33399489/) for similar applications have a dubious evidentiary basis. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/9 "2024-08-10T14:57:35Z")
An artist friend of mine showed up to a gallery opening after having extensive cupping on her back. She’s well over six feet tall, and her backless dress (highlighting dozens of large overlapping circles) made for the most interesting canvas of the night. By the way, she’s moved on to other “treatments” since then… never met a pseudo-health craze she didn’t want to try. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/10 "2024-08-10T15:23:09Z")
My wife was an IronMan. No longer competes. She did cupping once. It was stupid 10 years ago, and is stupid still. (I was her Sherpa) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/11 "2024-08-10T17:37:22Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > No. Just curious. I’ve always found bruising to have its own pain. I can’t see how relief of one thing makes the next pain of less value(eh). > > I saw an Italian athlete that had the tell-tale bruise on his shoulder. Deep purple. I thought “dang, that’s gotta be sore” It doesn’t hurt at all. It’s not a deep bruise it’s more like a hickey. It goes away pretty quickly. My wife has had it done while getting acupuncture. While there are scientific studies about the effectiveness of acupuncture cupping it’s complete bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/12 "2024-08-10T20:45:04Z")
It is no more dangerous than ear candling, and just as valid. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/13 "2024-08-11T00:47:25Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Athletes are among the most gullible in relation to “alternative” health treatments. In an effort to get an edge, they characteristically fall for modalities that are at best useless and at worst actively harmful. Well, they’re not allowed to take drugs anymore, so they’ll try anything. When aromatherapy, cupping, ear-candling (yeah - forgot that one 😆) and the like are banned by sports as ‘performance enhancing’ you’ll know they probably have some benefit. Until then… ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/14 "2024-08-11T01:00:29Z")
I thought this was going to be a thread about baseball players who adjust themselves during an at bat. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/15 "2024-08-11T01:12:24Z")
Or pole-vaulters🤭 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/16 "2024-08-11T01:30:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It is no more dangerous than ear candling, and just as valid. I haven’t seen any studies comparing risks of ear candling and cupping, but both can result in burns and other injuries. This list of potential injuries from cupping is…impressive (note that it’s supplied by authors who are laughably credulous about purported benefits). > [@](#): > > Preventable adverse events of cupping therapy include scarring, burns, bullae, abscesses, blood-borne and skin infections, pruritus, anemia, and panniculitis. These issues are often attributed to instrumentation or sterile technique errors. > > Nonpreventable adverse events of cupping therapy include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, vasovagal syncope, nausea, insomnia, and the Koebner phenomenon, which is described as the appearance of new skin lesions resulting from the treatment. These adverse events are categorized as nonpreventable because they largely depend on the patient’s response. > > Infection, vasovagal syncope, and scarring are more frequently associated with wet cupping. Common adverse effects of dry cupping include localized erythema and ecchymosis at the cupping site(s). When using fire suction in dry cupping, there is an elevated risk of burns. > **[Cupping Therapy](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538253/)** > > Cupping therapy is a therapeutic technique that utilizes a vacuum force created beneath a small vessel applied onto the skin's surface. This approach focuses on blood and autologous healing substances in a specific area, stimulating metabolic... Apart from bruising and erythema (redness), the risk of significant adverse events due to cupping is probably low. But when a modality has no proven benefits, _any_ significant harms are unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/17 "2024-08-11T02:07:29Z")
“Cupping” always brings to mind a scene in Ken Russell’s “The Devils” that puts a whole different spin on the procedure. Without going in to too much detail I’ll just say it involves bees and a dialog line “Poison to exorcise poison!” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/18 "2024-08-11T02:11:03Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Just because professional athletes do it does not make it scientifically valid and not woo. Professional athletes think that they can’t change socks during a hitting streak, or not shaving magically helps, and they think talking about a no hitter can end it. So, yeah, ignore profesional athletes on almost everything. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/19 "2024-08-11T02:25:59Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It seems to be absolute bullshit, based on what we _used_ to believe about how the human body operates. I have found numerous somewhat reputable websites that use weasel words like “people say”, “people believe”, “it is said” etc. but I can’t really find one that is enthusiastic about the practice. You mock it. But what treatment would you give to somebody whose body has too much yellow bile? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512/20 "2024-08-11T02:29:21Z")
Liver transplant? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupping-you-know-that-thing-athletes-do/1005512.md?page=2)