Both cupping and scraping are said to purge the body of toxins, while leaving unsightly marks on the skin that verge on the masochistic: to the untrained eye, the two TCM treatments appear identical. But according to Dr Zhao, TCM practitioner at Hong Yi Tang hospital, they are as different as yin and yang.
 
‘We link yin to a chill in the body and yang to fevers,’ says Zhao. This means that an excess of yin (and therefore a shortage of yang) leads to what is known in TCM circles as ‘excessive cold syndrome’; symptoms include aches and pains, brought on by cold and dampness, which are treatable through cupping.
 
On the flip side, a surplus of yang leads to ‘excessive heat’, which can cause a fever, sore throat and ‘blood stasis’ (a TCM term that is understood in biomedical terms as blood haemorrhage or thrombosis): this can be treated through scraping, to remove the toxins – and, therefore, the fever – from the body.
 
Cupping
In simple terms, cupping therapy involves applying a glass cup to the skin and reducing the pressure within it to draw and hold the skin. The suction ruptures capillaries, increasing the blood flow to the designated area. This supposedly releases toxins and moves blocked qi, which benefits the lymphatic system, promotes blood circulation, eases menstrual and digestive problems and alleviates all aches and pains. The cup marks on your back may make you look like you’ve just been unplugged from the Matrix, but the marks tend to disappear within a few days and do not hurt after the procedure itself. ‘Cupping also aids weight loss’ says Dr Zhao, although these claims are unproven.