Athletes are always looking for a competitive edge, and while most of the attention is paid to the performance side of athletic training, like practice, strength training or conditioning, less attention is typically paid to another crucial aspect of competition – recovery. Helping your body recover better after competitive stress is incredibly important for returning to athletics at a high level. Eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of restful sleep are great ways to help your body recover, but advancements in recovery technology have offered additional options for athletes looking to step up their recovery game. Two techniques that are becoming more popular among high school and college athletes are scraping and cupping, and we explore how both of these techniques can improve your shoulder health in today’s blog.
Shoulder Scraping
Shoulder scraping, or more generalized scraping therapy, is a technique that sees a therapist use a smooth-edged tool to glide over or “scrape” a particular area of skin. For athletes who specialize in throwing or swinging motions, oftentimes the scraping takes place on the top and back areas of the shoulder and down the upper portion of the arm.
The goal of the technique is to gently break up scar tissue formations using controlled pressure in specific areas of the shoulder. Careful guidance of the scraper puts friction on specific areas to release tight or knotted muscles, boost circulation and promote structural healing. You may notice some redness or small red spots called petechiae on your skin after a scraping session, and this is a good sign because it suggests blood flow has increased to the area.
Shoulder Cupping
Shoulder cupping, or more generalized cupping therapy, is a technique that uses a silicone or glass cup to create a suction around a particular area of skin. This suction lifts the different layers of skin to alleviate muscle tightness and improve blood flow to the region.
Some therapists practice moving cupping, which involves slowing moving a suctioned cup across different areas of the skin to provide care to a wider area of the shoulder. Others focus on dry cupping, which involves placing a few different suctioned cups on specific areas and leaving them in place for a couple of minutes to provide deeper relief on more targeted locations. With dry cupping, it’s common to have some circular red spots on the addressed area of skin for a couple of days after a session. These are different from trauma-based bruises, and are again a sign that the therapy has worked to increase blood flow as intended.
Benefits Of Shoulder Scraping And Cupping
Both techniques provide similar benefits, but one may be better than the other depending on your specific needs. Each technique can be used to improve blood flow and circulation, promote healing, reduce pain and inflammation and help athletes get back on the field sooner. However, scraping may be more ideal for an athlete hoping to break up scar tissue or adhesions after stressful or chronic shoulder use, whereas cupping is typically used to relieve muscle and soft tissue tightness, either before or after an athletic performance. Your physical therapist or athletic trainer can provide more insight as to which technique may be right for your situation.
If you’re dealing with soreness, tightness, swelling or inflammation before or after athletic activity, consider talking with a shoulder specialist or an athletic trainer about recovery techniques like scraping and cupping. When everyone else is focused on energy expenditure to improve athletic performance, go the other way and boost your recovery efforts so you’re more prepared and less likely to break down during athletics. To learn more about different shoulder recovery techniques, or for more hands-on assistance managing shoulder concerns, connect with Dr. Holloway and his team today at (865) 410-7887.
