Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps practices cupping, an ancient Chinese therapy that uses suction to help circulate blood and relieve muscle tension.
Cupping Therapy is an – method of suctioning skin with clear plastic cups that is purported — according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) — to dispel stagnation of blood and lymph, thereby improving qi flow.
Scientific evidence supporting cupping is weak or non-existent.
Get updates from The Cardinal ALL NEWS FEEDS on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts and sub-category posts from The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com. You can also limit feeds to specific categories. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
No, @MichaelPhelps didn't get Olympic rings tatted on his back. Those were just "cupping" marks: https://t.co/4ADzJ502jj
— espnW (@espnW) August 8, 2016
Traditional Chinese Medicine has an #Olympic Moment: @MichaelPhelps has purple circles on back from cupping therapy. pic.twitter.com/LVrbFrhXj7
— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) August 8, 2016