Alternative form of medicine with Chinese origins gets its own association for promotion
Cupping therapy, an alternative form of medicine with Chinese origins, is trying to find its space in the city. The International Cupping Association of India was officially inaugurated on Tuesday, and Dr Badruzzama Nadeem, a practising Unani physician who is the moving force behind it, has plans to take it to Chennai, Bhubaneswar, and Patna by the end of next month.
Cupping is an ancient practice where heated cup-like devices are used to create suctions on the skin. These suctions are believed by practitioners to not only detox the body but also help relieve pain in the spinal cord, neck, and shoulder region.
Dr Nadeem explained, “When suction is applied, blood from a radius of three centimetres from where the cup is placed is sucked into the bump.” Practitioners believe that ‘impure blood’ gets collected in one place and blood circulation gets better once the cup is released. They also hold that the method detoxifies the body.
Cupping can be broadly classified into two types — dry and wet. While dry cupping is practised using suction cups made of silicone, rubber, or fibre where the air is sucked out, wet cupping follows the same process except for the little incision made in the bump for ‘impure blood’ to trickle out — a procedure known as controlled bleeding.
A third form of cupping is fire cupping. Here, a cotton ball is soaked in 70 percent alcohol which is then held by a pair of forceps and lit. The lit cotton ball is then placed into the cup and removed as soon as it is placed. Practitioners say the process removes oxygen from inside the cup. It is then placed on the skin quickly to create a small amount of suction as the hot air inside the cup cools.
Dr. Nadeem founded the association, which was inaugurated by Health Minister UT Khader, in a bid to increase awareness. “At the moment there are not more than 65 practitioners in Bangalore,” he said.
INEXPENSIVE, AND HOT
Cupping as an alternate form of therapy is yet to catch on in Bangalore, despite being inexpensive. Treatments can range anywhere from Rs 100 to Rs 500 for dry cupping. “Since wet cupping requires experts, it can range from Rs 200 to Rs 1,500. At the moment we get six to seven patients a day, most of them due to word of mouth,” explained Dr Nadeem.
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / by Tapasya Mitra Mazumder, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / August 20th, 2014