Anyone have experience with cupping massage?
I had my BMX in November and my exchange in April. I recently started going in for myofascial release to relieve some of the tightness in my pecs and now my therapist has started using cupping too. Cupping is where they place small glass cups on your skin and then use a suction device to suction the skin under the cups. Then they pull the cup along the area they want to stretch. Apparently cupping gets a deeper stretch of the muscles. Both techniques are painful but I think they are helping with the remaining tightness that I have, however now I am noticing what looks like some extra "room" on the bottom/inside cleavage area of each foob. Not sure how to describe it, it's like there's an extra fold that looks like it should be filled in. Is that called bottoming out? My implants are far apart and my PS is going to do fat grafting in a few months so maybe he can fill that area in too? I'm just not sure if it's a good thing or not. Has anyone else had experience with cupping and can you let me know how it went? Thanks!
Comments
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nwgirl - I get Traditional Chinese Medicine - acupuncture - originally for my joint pain from AIs, then for my lower back pain.
The first time my practitioner did Cupping, I was on my stomach and she smacked that cup down on my back and I almost came off the table. It was the weirdest sensation - like a giant octopus on my back - and left huge hickeys that lasted over a week.
She explained that it was to increase the blood flow to the area, and it did. But I have only had that done on my back.
As for my boobs, I was in terrible pain even after Exchange, so I finally went to a Myofascial Therapist. She was a miracle worker. Not only did she rid me of the Iron Bra feeling I'd had since Exchange, she completely eliminated a huge buildup of fluid in my upper chest (she's also a Certified LE Therapist.)
But Cupping on your pecs? I honestly can't imagine what that might feel like. The Cupping I have is done the traditional Chinese way (with a lighted cotton ball inserted and removed before the cup is placed on the skin) and then the cups are left in place for maybe 20 minutes.
The skin is sucked up into the cups for a good two inches, and immediately turn purple
What does your PS have to say about doing this on your pecs? Could it possibly be disturbing any of the pockets that were created at BMX or finessed at time of Exchange?
The good thing about the MFR was the fact that my therapist used her fingers to do all the massage around my breast area. In fact, she could actually feel the places where the pockets were tacked down against my ribs, and specifically avoided those places as to not disturb anything.
I wish I had more experience in that area. You may want to just check with your PS.
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Thanks for replying Blessings. The cupping is extremely painful so my therapist has started out slow. And yes, my chest is all purple! She said that each time she does it, their will be less hickeys as the old blood will have all been drawn out. Thank you for letting me know that your therapist avoided the areas that were tacked down. That is the exact type of info I would like to know. My therapist seems to be focusing on those areas as thats where the scar tissue is. I don't think she has done too many BMX's so I probably check in with my PS if it's okay to do.
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nwgirl, my LE therapist did cupping. Like the other ladies said, it was painful, but it really helped me. Unfortunately, my insurance would only pay for 17 sessions, so I tried acupuncture after I ran out of PT options. The LE sessions worked better for me
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