If you have been paying close attention to the 2016 olympic games, then you may have noticed some strange red circle marks on some of the competing athletes. These are a result from a practice that is supposed to aid recovery and boost performance referred to as “cupping”, and Duke GIM’s own Adam Perlman, MD, executive director for Duke Integrative Medicine, knows quite a bit about it. He was recently interviewed by CBS News and WRAL News to give a little bit of insight on the benefits of cupping and why some olympians are choosing to do it.
In the article by WRAL, Perlman explained:
“Part of what you’re doing is enhancing the blood flow, sort of pulling blood to the surface. Chinese practitioners call it ‘enhancing the flow of energy’ – or ‘chi’ – through the body.”
Click below to read the full articles.
CBS News: Why is “cupping” attracting Olympic athletes like Michael Phelps?
WRAL: Olympians, weekend warriors turn to cupping for drug-free pain relief
Read more about Dr. Adam Perlman in this faculty spotlight from February 2015.
Follow him on Twitter @DrAdamPerlman
