It all started a few weeks ago when I woke up with severe back pain for the second time in two months. That doesn't seem so bad to a lot of people who deal with back pain so much more often, I know. But for me, someone who has never had any issues with my back before in my life, it was a big deal.
I can't pinpoint why it's happened other than the fact that the day before both instances occurred I went to the chiropractor, two different chiropractors to be exact. I don't blame either of them necessarily because their methods are quite different and there was 2 months in between each occurrence. To this day I'm still not sure what the cause of the pain was. All that I do know is that I have solved the issue with one thing that everyone around me doubted would help, and that thing is cupping.
Wtf is cupping?
Cupping is a Chinese medicine practice where special cups are suctioned to your back to relieve muscle tension, stimulate blood flow, reduce pain, and help with inflammation. It's kind of like the opposite of a deep issue massage because the muscles are being pulled up into the cups to draw circulation to that area.
I have been wanting to try cupping for a while now, probably about a year. It's one of those things where I'm like, "I want to try this so bad!! Some day!!" But some day never comes and I just keep wanting to try it. My intense back pain finally made someday become today.
What really made me feel drawn to cupping other than the fact that I wanted to try it just to try it was that I believed that my back issues were pretty much all muscular. I tried to avoid getting an x-ray just because that's not something I want to do unless absolutely necessary. But after talks of possible stress fractures in my spine I did get an x-ray which showed no new injuries. That confirmed for me that I needed to try the cupping as I was correct in the fact that my problems were with my muscles.
I booked the appointment and off I went. I decided on Pittsburgh Acupuncture and Massageworks just from what I saw on their website and off of gut instinct. I am so glad that I did and will definitely go back to them again.
I booked a 60 minute cupping massage and honestly I was pretty nervous going into it. I had no reason to be nervous though because everything was so amazing and I felt right at home there. We started with cups down both sides of my spine and I didn't feel too much pressure except in a few spots where I was feeling pain. As Ian, my massage therapist, worked his way out and along the sides of my back and down my legs throughout the hour I began to feel tons of pressure and pinching as the cups were being suctioned to my body. At first the sensation was a lot but after a few minutes the muscles relaxed and I felt the tension melt away, not even being able to feel the cups on me.
After the massage I felt relaxed but also energized. It's so fascinating to me because every spot that the cups are the darkest are where I was in the most pain.
It's been over a week now and I have no issues with back pain. None at all. Cupping 100% worked for me and I am such an advocate for it now.
I got to try something new that I've always wanted to try and heal my pain in the process. I still don't know what caused my muscles to become so tense leaving me unable to move but I do know what solved that problem and it's something that I will be coming back to again and again.
