• Deep Tissue Massage
• Myofascial Release
• Lymphatic Drainage
• Orthopedic Conditions
• Neuromuscular Dysfunctions
• Sports Massage and Injuries
• Stubborn Conditions
• Fybromyalgia
• Trigger Point Therapy
• Traumatic Injuries
• Chronic Conditions
• Abdominals
• Reflexology
• Physical Therapy
• Detoxification
• Cellulite
• Scars
• Stretch Marks and Varicosities
• Facial Treatments
• TMJD’s
• Sports Medicine
• General Relaxation and Wellness

The historical, clinical, and subjective efficacy of this modality is most impressive.

Another extremely valuable aspect for healers is the reduced wear and tear to the practitioner. The physical repetitive activity is tough on the Healthcare Provider – tools used in Cupping greatly increase the practitioners’ comfort and physical longevity – thus extending the longevity of the therapists’ career exponentially. This fact alone merits attention from every Medical Professional.

Consumers now demand greater access to this effective treatment in private practices, clinics, hospitals, professional sports teams, wellness centers, corporate retreats, cruise ships, recovery programs, retirement facilities, high-end spas and hotels. Even burn centers, dental offices and VA Hospitals are integrating Cupping Therapy for their patients.
The ICTA provides comprehensive 1, 2 and 3 day workshops in Cupping Therapies for all Healthcare Providers. ICTA Members have access to marketing materials, studies, training, specialized treatments and International Representation.

The specific origin of Cupping Therapy remains in obscurity – the consensus is that the action of suction has been part of therapeutic efforts throughout human history, migrating with human tribes along migratory routes. These ancient cultures used hollowed out stone, animal horns, bones, bamboo, nuts, seashells and gourds to purge bites, poisons, pustules, infections and skin lesions from the body, and many of these tools are still in use today. Ancient healers also used Cupping devices to draw evil spirits out of the body and to balance the humors. Earthenware and metal were fashioned into Cupping vessels before the development of glass, plastics, rubber and silicone.

Cupping therapy was used in Egypt dating back some 3,500 years, where its use is represented in hieroglyphic writing. The earliest recorded use of Cupping is from the famous Taoist alchemist and herbalist, Ge Hong (281–341 A.D.) In ancient Greece, Hippocrates recommended the use of cups for a variety of ailments, while in the early 1900’s eminent British physician, Sir Arthur Keith, wrote how he witnessed Cupping performed with excellent success.

Suction Cup Therapies remained a constant in professional medical treatment throughout Europe. It was practiced by such famous physicians as Galen (131-200AD), Paracelsus (1493-1541), Ambroise Pare (1509-90) and surgeon Charles Kennedy (1826).

In China, extensive research has been carried out on Cupping, and the practice is a mainstay of government-sponsored hospitals of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The fundamental therapeutic value of Cupping has been documented through several thousand years of clinical and subjective experience and has advanced its application to many areas.

Women healers in communities throughout the world practiced the use of suction to purge, stimulate and heal, passing down their knowledge to apprentices and as family tradition. Cross cultural studies show that Women represented a major source and influence as healers in many cultures, with people traveling for days to reach a well known healer. Reliable sources hold that Cupping throughout Europe, Nordic Countries, Africa, and Asia was usually performed by the Women in the communities. However, by the thirteenth century, many universities incorporated a “modernized” chemical and biomedical studies in their curriculum, excluded Women. Despite the well known fact that non-official “folk medicine” has been poorly represented in the modern medical paradigm, Women would have continued to play a major role representing in holistic health care had they participated.

Although the use of Cupping has remained popular throughout many cultures worldwide, the 20th century rise in the Pharmaceutical Industry and it’s stranglehold on allopathic medical practices caused its widespread decrease in many Anglo-Saxon societies. Because Cupping (along with many other Holistic Healing Arts) was only a tactile treatment, it was inconsistent with this new pharmaceutical system, which quickly moved away from proven hands on holistic and manipulative therapies of generations past.

Even the North American Indians who used Buffalo Horn, seashells, gourds and bones for Cupping – once its people were herded into reservations their traditions of health maintenance and healing were replaced.