Myofascial Decompression and Cupping
Myofascial decompression (MFD) blends concepts from ancient methods of cupping with principles of myofascial release. MFD uses a pneumatic pump or silicone cups to lift tissues causing decompression versus many of our physical therapy myofascial techniques are more compressive in nature. Therefore it creates a unique stretch to the structure. MFD works well to break up adhesions, scar tissue, decrease trigger points, and can also be used for swelling management.
Techniques:
-place cups on tissue and then gently move cups along tissue you want to mobilize
-place cups on tissue and then you can have patient add active motion or you can add muscle pumping by activating the muscle.
-place cups on tissue while patient has tissue in prolonged stretch position
-for edema, do ½ a pump and very gently promote fluid return along major lymph pathways
Common mistakes:
-too aggressive pumping
-Going over bony prominence, need to stay on tissue
-make sure you warn patient there may be slight redness or possible bruising
Give us a call and schedule a session! We love to incorporate MFD into our visits if appropriate. Happy to teach you how to perform on yourself if needed for part of your home program and self management techniques.
Limited research but here is a few articles I found:
1.The effect of moving cupping therapy on nonspecific low back pain
HONG Yongfeng, WU Jianxian, WANG Bin, et al. Dept. of Rehabilitation, Number 1 Hospital of Anhui Medical University,Hefei,230022
http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-ZGKF200604017.htm
Conclusion: “Being a sort of economical and effective method,moving cupping therapy can alleviate or even cure NLBP, therefore it might be recommended to treat and prevent NLBP.”
2.The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Lee-Mei Chi,1,2 Li-Mei Lin,3 Chien-Lin Chen,4,5 Shu-Fang Wang,6 Hui-Ling Lai,7 and Tai-Chu Peng1,7 2016
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
Conclusion: “CT is often used to treat pain, such as low back pain, fibromyalgia, shoulder pain, chronic nonspecific neck pain, cardiovascular diseases, angina, arthritis, and high blood pressure. The clinical evidence of CT is minimal. Findings from this study strongly suggest that CT is effective for relieving pain, with no adverse effects. CT has the potential to eliminate reliance on analgesics and reduce health care costs.”
3.Cupping for stroke rehabilitation: A systematic review
Myeong Soo Lee, Tae-Young Choi, Byung-Cheul Shin, Chang-ho Han, Edzard Ernst
Published Online: May 03, 2010
http://www.jns-journal.com/article/S0022-510X(10)00160-7/abstract
Conclusion: “Some superior effects of cupping were found in two of the RCTs when compared to acupuncture in hemiplegic shoulder pain and high upper-limb myodynamia after stroke. The other RCT failed to show favorable effects of cupping when compared to acupuncture and warm needling in patients with hemiplegic hand edema”.