If you’re following the Olympics, you’ve probably noticed the buzz around “cupping” after Michael Phelps and US gymnast Alex Naddour performed in Rio. The two athletes sported big red dots on their skin and social media exploded with viewers wondering what those remarkably large, round hickeys are.
It turns out they’re marks left by an ancient Chinese healing technique that uses suction cups to relieve pain, but has limited scientific evidence to back it up. A 2012 review said that cupping therapy can potentially help treat shingles, but it also said that the reviewed studies generally were of “low methodological quality” and more research is needed. Despite that, athletes who use the alternative therapy swear by it. (“That’s been the secret that I have had through this year that keeps me healthy,” Naddour told USA Today.)
Cupping isn’t the first health fad to sweep through sports. Past years have seen everything from kinesio tape to power bands. Though some of these therapies can offer benefits, they’ve been hard to prove and some experts have noted that they might work because of placebo.
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