Nicolo Martinenghi was the unexpected winner of the mens 100m breaststroke in the 2024 Paris Olympics, beating world record holder Adam Peaty.
Another surprise from Martinenghi, was the array of strange circular bruises on his shoulders. These looked very similar to bruises that the legendary Olympian Michael Phelps had in the past, or other Olympic medal winners, such as Ryan Murphy.
These marks are as a result of cupping therapy, which was first documented as a Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment over 1600 years ago. A vacuum is created in a ‘cup’, which is normally made from glass or plastic, and the cup is applied to the skin. The vacuum pulls fluid to the surface, and the bruising is caused by tiny broken blood vessels. It is believed that this has a positive effect on muscle recovery and healing, being a form of physical therapy like massage.
There have not been enough high-quality studies done on cupping therapy to prove its effectiveness, and so it is rarely recommended by conventional medical professionals. Efforts are being made to test this treatment scientifically (1, 2). Separate to this, cupping done by also drawing blood is called Wet Cupping, and cupping used to treat problems unrelated to muscular recovery and performance are understandably where much of the debate regarding efficacy comes from.
Athletes such as Phelps and Martinenghi are incredibly focused on their performance and recovery, where even a slight advantage is critical. If they have experienced benefits from this therapy, and seeing as most experts agree that cupping is safe (3), then perhaps it is worth a try.
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