(NaturalPath) If you had been watching Michael Phelps and other Olympians recently, you would have seen many large circular discolorations scattered around their body. This is a technique used by some athletes to recover from a particularly strenuous workout.
In an article by the New York Times, Phelps’s personal trainer said, “Because this particular recovery modality shows blemishes on his skin, he walks around and looks like a Dalmatian or a really bad tattoo sleeve. It’s just another recovery modality. There’s nothing really particularly special about it.” The recovery method is called cupping. There are some studies to support the technique along with the anecdotal evidence.
One study out of the American Pain Society found that it is effective for providing temporary relief of pain from carpal tunnel syndrome. The cupping method has been used in China, India, Arabia, Central Europe and parts of Africa and is believed to increase microcirculation. The results of one treatment in the study improved functional ability and quality of life for a week.
It has also been surmised that there is a large placebo effect in play with this treatment.
Phelps’s trainer continued, “There is a psychological component where Michael has been doing this to feel good for a long time, about two years. Anything you can do to get the body to feel good – you have to use an educational assessment on it. You have to make sure that what you’re doing is causing a physiological intent to recover.”
So when you see the weird circular dark marks on a handful of these Olympians, that’s probably what it is on their bodies.
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.
