Cindy Moore

New Contraindication for Cupping

I had an interesting experience while teaching at Carlson College of Massage in Iowa recently. One of the students had recently recovered from Lyme disease. As he was getting ready to receive a treatment, we discovered a tick on his chest. Needless to say, he was very ticked off.

We used tweezers to safely remove the entire tick. It was suggested to place a massage cup over the tick bite to help remove any secretions from the tick. We decided not to do that, as one of the signs of Lyme disease is a ring around the bite area. Cupping the area can create a ring, confusing the diagnosis.

The good news is that the tick was later examined and identified as a wood tick, not a deer tick, so it was very unlikely to be a carrier of Lyme disease.

I would not do cupping for a tick bite. As always, it is important to get medical attention for any serious bite.

The picture below is from a Google image search and shows a ring around a tick bite.