Cupping back massage bruises

Bruises after various types of massage are a fairly common occurrence. Some people are even sure that the more painful the procedure is, and the more hematomas and bruises remain after it, the more significant the therapeutic and preventive effect is achieved. Meanwhile, with some types of exposure, such traces are completely unacceptable, and their appearance indicates exclusively the unprofessionalism of the specialist.

In this article we will tell you why in some cases bruises remain after a massage, and in which types of massage they should never occur.

Is it normal if bruises remain after a back massage?

Most often, patients resort to the services of professional massage therapists for certain diseases of the back and spine. In addition, such an effect on the human body is excellent for relaxing and strengthening muscles and is often used to prevent various ailments.

There is an opinion that during a back massage it is impossible to avoid painful sensations, after which unsightly dark marks appear on certain parts of the body. In reality, this is not the case at all, and bruising in such a situation can only occur if the wrong technique is used.

Proper execution of massage techniques is designed to restore muscle elasticity, improve blood flow and strengthen blood vessels. Bruises, on the contrary, occur when the integrity of the capillaries is disrupted and they rupture. In addition, bruises can form if the massage therapist plucks your skin while working.

Thus, if after a back massage you are left with bruises and other unsightly marks, as well as severe pain and discomfort, you should contact another specialist.

This technique should cause relaxation, as well as slight muscle soreness. Bruises can occur only after using harsh types of influence, such as honey, cupping and anti-cellulite massage.

Should there be bruises after an anti-cellulite massage procedure?

As for anti-cellulite massage, bruising after this procedure is absolutely normal. As you know, cellulite affects not only obese women. In some situations, very slender representatives of the fair sex dream of getting rid of orange peel.

Typically, it is for these girls that body massage causes a lot of unpleasant and painful sensations, and after this procedure, small bruises and even bruises appear in various areas.

In most cases, such marks appear on a woman’s body at the beginning of the session, when the massage therapist has not yet figured out exactly how to work with the skin so as not to leave unsightly bruises. In addition, the dermis itself takes some time to get used to the rather intense effects.

There is absolutely no need to be afraid of bruises formed on your body during an anti-cellulite massage. If the procedure is carried out by a qualified specialist, very soon your skin will get used to it, and there will not be a hint of these unsightly marks left on it.

To quickly get rid of this side effect, you can use one of the following methods:

1. apply a warm heating pad to the affected area for a while 2-3 times a day;
2. apply ointment or cream with a high content of bodyagi to bruises;
3. make a compress from mountain arnica or cinquefoil grass;
4. for a lotion, you can also use a mixture of medicinal plants, consisting of sweet clover, clover, lemon balm and knotweed;
5. apply iodine mesh to the painful area of ​​skin;
6. to strengthen blood vessels, you should take Troxerutin tablets once a day;
7. To quickly dissolve blood clots and get rid of hematomas, the damaged area should be constantly smeared with a topical medication containing heparin, for example, Lyoton-gel.

Why do bruises often remain on the body after a cupping massage?

Almost all of us, one way or another, are familiar with cupping massage and other elements of vacuum therapy. After any such procedure, bruises are sure to form on the body, but in appearance they are more likely to resemble rather large red spots. Scientifically, these traces are called extravasates.

The action of vacuum therapy is always based on the ability of liquid to flow from a zone of higher pressure to a zone of lower pressure. Moreover, the lower the pressure, the greater the amount of liquid rushes there.

The well-known cupping massage is one of the main elements of vacuum therapy, during which a low-pressure area is created, where fluids, namely blood and lymph, are immediately sent. Moreover, the stronger the specialist sucks your skin with the help of a can, the brighter and more prominent marks remain on it.

All this explains the nature of extravasation, which necessarily appears on the patient’s body, at least after the first sessions of cupping. In some cases, after 3-4 procedures, the movement of lymph and blood circulation are normalized, after which the person ceases to experience pain, and unsightly marks no longer appear on his skin.

Meanwhile, in most cases, after using cups, hematomas remain in the last sessions, however, they become much less pronounced.

Is it normal for bruises to appear on the body after a honey massage?

Honey rubbing, or massage, is used in various situations, including to get rid of cellulite. The essence of this procedure is that honey is first applied to problem areas, and then kneaded with strong claps, during which the palm seems to be “glued” to the patient’s body, after which it is torn off with a sharp movement.

At the same time, due to exposure to conditions reminiscent of a microvacuum, blood flow increases and blood vessels dilate.

It is quite natural that as a result of one or several sessions of a procedure that vaguely resembles elements of vacuum therapy, small bruises may form on the patient’s skin.

In most cases, they are practically invisible and go away very quickly, however, for some girls such ugly marks can cause a lot of unpleasant sensations. Particularly severe hematomas occur in obese women with advanced cellulite.

To prevent the appearance of such unsightly hematomas, you must use the following recommendations:

1. Before the session, you should take a hot shower to steam your body, and also use a scrub. To do this, you can use ordinary ground coffee or any cosmetic product;
2. Next, the body needs to be stretched. The specialist can do a light rubbing with his hands or use a special massager;
3. Immediately before applying honey to the body, add a few drops of any essential oil, such as bergamot, orange or eucalyptus. This way you will not only prevent the appearance of bruises, but also give the product for getting rid of cellulite and other skin problems a unique aroma;
4. The resulting mixture should be applied only to dry skin with light circular movements of the palm, then it should be left on the body for 1-2 minutes and only after that begin the honey rubbing procedure;
5. After the session, you need to apply a soothing cream or lotion to your entire body.

Thus, the appearance of hematomas and other unsightly marks on the body after one or several massage sessions can sometimes be absolutely normal, however, in some cases, this state of affairs should alert you and think about changing the massage therapist.

In addition, in a small proportion of people the dermis is so sensitive that any, even the slightest, impact on it leads to the formation of hematomas. In such a situation, you should increase the time between sessions and try in every possible way to soothe your skin after the procedure.

The content of the article

A quick and effective way to get rid of cellulite is local mechanical action, which can be provided using glass jars. In former times, such cups were placed on the back and sides for colds, coughs, and bronchitis. Their therapeutic effect is based on the appearance of negative pressure in the jar, which is obtained when the air is heated by the combustion of oxygen.

Cupping massage was done for radiculitis and osteochondrosis. Now they also perform cosmetic massage to combat cellulite.

What you need to know about cupping massage

Before a cosmetic massage, the body is cleansed with a mixture of sea salt and honey or a cosmetic scrub, after which an anti-cellulite agent is applied. A medical glass or latex jar is “sucked” to the skin and a small area begins to be massaged in a circular motion. Slow movements alternate with more energetic ones. Massage sessions are carried out every other day, usually the course takes from two to four weeks.

Bruises that remain during cupping massage are an inevitable side effect of the procedure. If it is carried out by a specialist in a beauty salon, bruises remain, but they are very small, and they resolve quickly. In other cases, the skin reaction will be more pronounced.

How long will it take for bruises to resolve?

Sometimes the bruises that form after cups dig into the skin look quite scary, but they are not at all dangerous and in some ways are even useful. Banks break capillaries that have already outlived their purpose, and thereby force new ones to be born.

The duration of bruising on the skin cannot be accurately predicted. This depends on the correct placement of the cups, the condition and characteristics of the skin, and the fragility of the blood vessels. The peripheral blood supply to the skin is individual, therefore, one can only make assumptions regarding the resorption of blue circles at the massage site. Bruises usually remain on the skin for five to seven days.

The more intense the massage, the better the effect, but the bruising will be stronger. If the skin is thin and the vessels are located close to the surface, they will take longer to disappear. After removing the cups, you can inspect the bruises - if they do not seem prominently convex, but are just spots on the skin, they will resolve faster.

If there are no contraindications, you can stock up on ointments with a venotonic or decongestant effect before the session. Within an hour after the procedure, applying anti-bruise cream will help reduce their number and speed up resorption.

CUP MASSAGE

Cupping massage is the most famous element of vacuum therapy.
Vacuum technologies, without a doubt, can significantly expand the therapeutic and health-improving effects of holistic massage, and therefore I pay great attention to cupping massage in any massage course.

The action of cupping massage is based on the physical property of any liquid to rush from a zone of higher pressure to a zone of lower pressure. Moreover, the lower the pressure we have, the more liquid rushes there.
The jar creates just such a low-pressure area (or vacuum), into which, according to the laws of physics, liquids rush: intercellular fluid, blood and lymph.
The more we “suck” the skin with the cup, the more blood and lymph are attracted to this place from the underlying tissues.

I got my first introduction to cupping massage from my first massage teacher. I remember they were opaque silicone jars - soft and very weak in terms of the strength of the vacuum created.

Then I got jars made of special medical plastic (more precisely, plastic compound), oval in shape.
They were already more elastic and created a stronger vacuum. But nevertheless, at that time I did not yet classify cupping massage as intensive therapy, since these cups also worked quite gently, in pleasure mode. There was no talk of any bruises there - even children could do it with a full “hickey” :)

And during the same period, I came across combination jars - a glass cone and a rubber “bulb” for “hickey”.
Combined cans were also “childish” - the vacuum created was weak and there were no intense sensations from it.

Then, finally, I came across another plastic jar, a different type - round.
They were already so elastic that they created a very decent vacuum. And now it was possible to do both a soft, gentle massage (sucking in the jar by half, or even a third) and a very hard, intense cupping massage.
These cans could already leave bruises, stripes, redness, red-blue-violet “stains” on the body, which sometimes frightened people, or at least led to doubt - is this good or not?

At the same time, information among the people about bruises was very contradictory.

Some argued that there should absolutely be no bruises during a massage. Moreover, the bruises left after the massage even meant the incompetence of the massage therapist! Wow!
Others thought that there was nothing wrong with the bruises, but could not really explain why? Usually this referred to general weakness of blood vessels: they say, I have had this since childhood, they say, the blood vessels are weak.

I had to study the issue in detail.

History of a bruise :)

It turned out that the attitude towards bruises in the Eastern and Western traditions is different.

The West is afraid of a bruise like hell :) And taking into account the current idiocy. ummm. Due to the uniqueness that reigns in Western health culture, a bruise is also a real danger for a massage therapist of “getting caught.” Based on the bruise left behind, a dissatisfied client may “run into” the massage therapist.
Accordingly, massage therapists in the West try to give the most gentle massage possible and are careful.

But in the east there are entire systems based on the powerful healing potential of a bruise.

Yes Yes! Exactly like this: THE HEALING POTENTIAL OF A BRUIS! No more, no less!:)

Most of all, this “bruise theme” has been worked out in Chinese medicine - vacuum technologies, percussion, scraping (gua sha massage).
Video recordings of master classes by Chinese doctors show the bruises they leave on the bodies of patients.
Or these are red and blue stains from the gua sha scraping technique. Divorces are sometimes simply scary to the pampered, glamorous and hedonistic Western eye.

Actually, in Rus', a wide variety of therapeutic technologies associated with the artificial creation of a bruise have long been known. For example, such technologies are described in the interesting book by P. Toren, “Traditional Medicine and Psychology,” which describes the traditions of folk medicine of the early twentieth century. - even before the “medical era”. And there is such a technology: when a peasant tore his stomach, he was laid on his back in straw, covered with straw so that only his bare stomach was exposed. They poured millet on the belly and let the chickens in there. Chickens plucking millet created a continuous hematoma on their stomachs. And very soon the peasant regained his ability to work.
The same applied to tearing off the back, only in this case the person was placed in the straw on his stomach, and his back remained open. The chickens pecked the millet from the back, leaving a continuous hematoma on it. And this also led to a quick restoration of performance.

You can imagine how tough this technique was and how “impressive” such a hematoma on the stomach or back was - any cupping massage is relaxing :)

In addition to this original technology, a variety of options are known spanking, tapping, beating, quilting - both simply with your hands and using various accessories - from wooden spoons to logs. And the essence of all these technologies is the same - the creation of an artificial hematoma.

And finally, the theme closest to us from the “history of a bruise” is our dear medical glass jars from childhood, which we were given every time we had a cold.
They also left bruises - sometimes even more, and which for everyone around them were completely in the order of things. And then it never occurred to anyone to even mention this, that the doctor or nurse who gave the child bruises with her cups was unprofessional and incompetent. o tempora, o mores, as they say in our Nizhny Novgorod region :)

So, studying the history of the issue showed that a bruise is a blessing in itself, however, for this you need to strictly position yourself not as a classical medical massage therapist, but as a representative of the eastern school of massage. Thank God, my holistic massage was already successfully based on the Eastern principles of a holistic approach to healing.

Now it was necessary to find out what exactly is the mechanism of the therapeutic effect of a bruise? The methods described by Toren and in Chinese sources are simply empirics. For the same Chinese, the normal attitude towards a bruise is so natural and so common since childhood that no one there has the need to delve into the mechanisms; it is quite enough that it has actually been working for more than a thousand years.
It turned out that this is already widely known in our Russian medicine.
Moreover, in a scientific way!
It’s just that the dominance of the West has forced these things out of real medical practice (oh, this West. It’s no coincidence that the word itself is consonant with the word “trap”, and even “zadlo”:))

General theory of a bruise :)

The origins of the understanding of the powerful healing potential of artificially induced bruises are in the so-called autohemotherapy, which was described at the beginning of the 20th century. but was especially widely used by Russian and Soviet doctors during the First and Second World Wars.
There was a catastrophic shortage of medicines at that time, and this therapy was used everywhere on the fronts and saved the lives of many Russian and Soviet soldiers.

Currently, this technique is well known and is also quite widely used in clinical practice, although, of course, not to its full potential. The technique is so powerful and so cheap that the current “rulers of the world” - transnational pharmaceutical companies - will never allow such disgrace! :)

What is the essence of the method?

Blood is taken from the patient’s vein and immediately injected subcutaneously in the area of ​​the diseased organ.
It is injected subcutaneously - just to create such a hematoma, bruise.
Terminologically, this is called "pricking blood" or "pricking blood."

And this is what happens: the appearance of blood in this - the wrong thing! - location is perceived by the body in the same way as it would be a direct wound when blood flows.
But it is known that any wound with bleeding includes in this place the most powerful protective and restorative mechanisms: hormones, antibodies, specific nervous and immune reactions, many other specific factors.

This is an automatic system. This is how nature itself programmed it.
This is similar to the automatic fire extinguishing system installed in many premises.
As soon as smoke enters the sensor, pre-installed sprayers immediately turn on and the room is flooded with water.
At the same time, there are cases when this system is triggered without a real fire: there are jokers who, purely for fun, light some object and bring it to the sensor (or this is also what agents do in action films when escaping from a chase :)). And the fire extinguishing system, “deceived” by this smoke, goes off, plunging the entire office into a fun water procedure. It cannot fail to work, since the smoke was real.

And when we inject blood, we perform approximately the same feint.

We provoke the activation of this entire protection-regeneration mechanism without any real danger to the body!

The blood is our own, dear. There is no real wound with bleeding. And the regeneration mechanism automatically turns on.

As a result, the most powerful regeneration of all tissues in the area of ​​​​the blood injection occurs - including internal organs - which has a therapeutic effect evenOgreater than the use of any artificial remedies.

So, it turns out that the bruise left by the jar has exactly the same mechanism of therapeutic action!
The only difference is how blood enters the interstitial space (intercellular).

When creating a vacuum, blood squeezed out, squeezed out from the capillaries through their thin walls, and ends up in the intercellular space (I emphasize: exactly squeezed out through the walls, and no “capillary rupture”, which ignorant people often talk about (of which, by the way, there are many among doctors), does not happen here!

Moreover, in this case we have another wonderful health effect. The fact is that in a normal, healthy state, capillaries are very elastic, and therefore they are able to stretch with almost any vacuum force - at least the kind that can be created by banks.
Thus blood is squeezed out only from inelastic capillaries.

But the loss of elasticity of the capillaries is accompanied by stagnation of blood in them. Stagnation of blood is stuck red blood cells.
As is known, red blood cells themselves are larger than the lumen of the capillary, and they can pass through the capillaries only by changing their shape from flat disc-shaped: to “bullet-shaped” or “torpedo-shaped”:

If a person’s blood is acidified (which you can read in more detail here), then the red blood cells harden, cease to be elastic, get stuck in the capillaries, creating a stagnation process in them, which leads to capillary stiffness. The capillaries also become inelastic.

And so we create a vacuum with a jar. Elastic capillaries - through which blood flows normally - are stretched, and inelastic capillaries - in which there is stagnation of blood, under the influence of vacuum force they are freed from the “dump” of dead red blood cells accumulated in them. These are not even red blood cells anymore, but poikilocytes - strictly speaking (this term refers to deformed red blood cells that are no longer capable of performing their function - they are actually just “garbage”)

The force of the vacuum pushes, squeezes these poikilocytes out of the capillaries into the interstitial space, and now we have almost the same situation as in the case of autohemotherapy.

Accordingly, as soon as stagnant blood is in the “wrong place”, the same protection/regeneration mechanism is activated in the body as during autohemotherapy. There is a powerful surge in local immunity, all tissues are renewed and regenerated.

As practice shows, If a person does not have blood stagnation in the capillaries, then it is almost impossible to leave a bruise after cupping.

The vacuum strength during cupping massage is limited: if you “suck in” more than a certain level, it will simply be impossible to move the jar. It will not be able to slide even with generously lubricated skin.
So, even with the highest possible vacuum, after working with jars, only redness remains, which goes away within 15-30 minutes.

If there are a lot of clogged capillaries, the stagnation of blood is strong, then after a cupping massage we will have red, violet-red, violet, violet-blue, blue stains and spots - bruises.
The difference in color is due to the nature of the material that is squeezed out of the capillaries.

In conclusion of this “general theory of a bruise”:), I can also suggest listening to a fragment of Professor Ogulov’s lecture, where he talks about the mechanism of action of bruises.

The effects of cupping massage have been quite well studied and described.

Peripheral circulation of blood, lymph, and interstitial fluid improves.
The phenomena of stagnation are eliminated, metabolism and skin respiration in the massaged area of ​​the body are enhanced. The skin becomes elastic, its resistance to temperature and mechanical factors increases, the contractile function of muscles improves, their tone and elasticity increase.
In the area where vacuum action occurs, biologically active substances called enzymes are formed. They launch diverse metabolic and restoration processes.
In addition, thanks to cupping massage, toxins and other harmful substances are removed from the body, the mobility of the joints and spine increases, the stiffness of the back muscles and limbs decreases, muscle tension is removed, and muscle sensitivity improves.

An extract of the sebaceous and sweat glands is also released. In addition to salts, it contains urea, acetone, and fatty acids, which in excessive concentrations are toxic to the body. Their effective removal with vacuum massage makes it possible to compare this method with the effect of a bath.
A powerful blood flow stimulates metabolism in areas of excess fat deposits, as a result of which the structure of adipose tissue becomes softer and more pliable for subsequent breakdown through aerobic training.

In addition to direct physiological effects, vacuum therapy also works as a reflex method based on irritation of skin receptors by the vacuum created in the jar.
The vacuum causes a local rush of blood and lymph to the skin, which has a reflex effect on the vessels of the internal organs and stimulates the strengthening of their immunity.

• for skin diseases (eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, fungus), purulent inflammation, calluses, minor abrasions and wounds;
• with reduced blood clotting;
• during treatment with steroids;
• in the first half of pregnancy, since the immune system is already at its peak of activity and additional stimulation can cause harm;
• at elevated temperatures;
• for bleeding

Independent practice of cupping massage

You can and should practice cupping massage on your own.
Technically there is nothing complicated about it.
It’s enough to try a couple of times and the skill will already be formed.
Or you can take a lesson or two from a specialist.

There's not much you need to know here.

The basic rules are:

— before cupping massage, you must warm up the massage area: either with a regular massage, or with any other techniques (patting, massagers, etc.)
— the first “pass” with the banks is not done at full vacuum strength
— cupping massage should be moderately painful, you can’t overdo it

You can purchase all the jars I indicated at the beginning of the page at pharmacies or medical equipment stores.
In addition, high-quality cans can be purchased directly in the center of Ogulov. The banks there are reliable - it’s been verified.
On the same page you can also find visual videos about how to use these cans.

Vacuum technology

I practiced standard cupping massage for quite a long time until I entered the second stage of visceral therapy training at Professor Ogulov’s school.

This training enriched me with a wide range of vacuum techniques, of which the Ogulov Clinic has already developed a lot.

The material about these techniques turned out to be so extensive and so specific (and for some even shocking :)), that I put it on a separate page.

So, further development of the vacuum topic - Here