Cupping is an ancient technique of applying heated vessels to the skin. Believed to cure internal disorders, it was commonly used by the indigenous peoples of the Americas and Africa, as well as by traditional Asian healers. The Chinese applied hollowed-out animal horns to the skin, sucked the air out of the horn and then blocked the opening with one finger. 

      The age-old technique had been rediscovered in the twentieth century. Today, small vessels made of glass, metal or wood are warmed, and the vessel opening is placed against specific skin zones - reflex zones - usually on the back, abdomen or legs. Stimulating these zones by drawing blood flow to them in turn stimulates the tissues and internal organs to which the zones are believed to correspond. Also, the cups create minor bruising; this triggers the immune system, which must respond to the "injury." Thus, localized blood-flow stimulation. There are two types of cupping - bloody and dry - used to attain results