Description: Cupping, which is commonly used today in sports medicine and therapy, has been around since nearly 1500 B.C. in ancient Egypt, China, Greece, and the Islamic world to treat internal diseases, fever, nausea, pain, and others. The treatment of cupping consists of two forms of practice: wet cupping and dry cupping. Wet cupping more closely fits the idea of bloodletting in which, after the skin was cut, a heated cup would be placed on the wound. As this cup was cooled, pressure would build thus removing blood. Dry cupping, on the other hand, consists of the same practice but without an initial cut. In this case, the suctioned area would bulge outward which was originally thought to be the evil, inflammation-causing humors coming to the surface.
Origin: Circa 1880; Russia
Manufacturer: Unknown