In 2004, actress Gwyneth Paltrow attended a New York movie premiere with strange circular marks on her back and shoulders. These odd bruises came from cupping, an alternative medicine technique.

Cupping is a type of acupuncture that uses heated cups, rather than needles, to free the flow of qi, or life energy, in the body. The cups, usually clear glass, bell-shaped vessels with diameters from ½ to 2 ½ inches, are placed on acupuncture meridians on the back, which are pathways linking acupuncture points. The hands and legs can be cupped too.

Cupping’s used to treat many different ailments, from colds to fatigue to digestive problems to reproductive issues. Practitioners say it heats up “cold energy” in the body which can cause illness by impeding the flow of blood, lymph and qi. Heated air in the cups, and their suction on the skin, heat up this cold energy and allow it to flow more effectively.

There are several different methods of cupping. Fire cupping involves the cupping practitioner heating the air inside a cup with a flame ignited with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol. The practitioner then puts the cup against the skin, which creates a vacuum and sucks the skin up into the cup. In suction cupping, the cup’s placed against the skin first, and then the air’s sucked out of the cup with a hand pump. Sliding cupping entails applying a lubricant such as essential oil to the skin, then sliding the cup around a particular acupuncture point, increasing circulation. This won’t create a circular bruise: instead, the skin will turn red from the increased blood flow. Regardless of the method used, each cupping session lasts about 20 minutes.

Gwyneth’s cups, from the look of photographs, weren’t placed along a specific meridian, but rather on several unconnected acupuncture points. There’s one bruise by the fold of her right armpit, which corresponds to a point used to treat shoulder pain. Another point to the right of her spine might have been cupped to treat headaches – but could also have been used to increase circulation and rid the body of dead blood cells.

Gwyneth wrote on her website, “I am thankful for a round of antibiotics or surgery when necessary but I have been helped tremendously by the practices [of acupuncture and cupping] that help the body heal itself…When implemented by a professional with experience, the benefits can work wonders.”

Other celebrities who reportedly practice cupping include Jessica Simpson, Kristen Scott Thomas, Ralph Fiennes, and Patsy Kensit.

Source: http://www.grannymed.com/news/herbal-medicine/cupping-acupuncture-related-celebrity-health-craze