Cupping guides
Muscle aches: the most common causes, when aching muscles are something else and what helps, including cupping
Muscle aches have many causes: training, static load and stress, infections, certain medicines, vitamin D deficiency and long-term pain conditions. Here is how to tell them apart, when aching muscles should be assessed by a doctor, and what relieves them, from movement and heat to cupping.
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Foot pain: where it hurts reveals the cause, self-care that helps and how to cup the foot and calf
Where the foot hurts usually says what it is: under the heel (plantar fasciitis), at the back (the Achilles tendon), in the forefoot (metatarsalgia, Morton's neuroma), in the big toe (bunion, gout) or on the top (stress fracture, tendons). Here is a map of foot pain, what helps for each cause, when to see a doctor and how cupping of the sole and calf is used.
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Home workout without equipment: a 20-minute whole-body programme in three levels, and the recovery that keeps you going
Strength training at home without equipment works if the programme is simple, covers the whole body and can be made harder. Here is a 20-minute programme with seven exercises in three levels, how often to train, how to progress, the most common mistakes and the recovery, sleep, movement and cupping, that keeps you going.
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Neck exercises: 8 exercises for a stiff neck, tight shoulders and neck-related dizziness, and how cupping prepares them
A stiff neck does best with small, frequent movements and strength for the deep neck muscles, not with being held still. Here are eight neck exercises for mobility, strength and posture, adapted for a stiff neck after screen days, tight shoulders and neck-related dizziness, plus how cupping the trapezius prepares them.
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Shoulder exercises: 10 exercises for strong, mobile shoulders with desk shoulders, impingement and after frozen shoulder, and how cupping prepares them
The shoulder is the body's most mobile joint and is held in place by muscles, not bone. Here are ten exercises at home for the rotator cuff, shoulder blade and mobility, adapted for desk shoulders, impingement and recovery after frozen shoulder, plus how a short cupping session prepares the muscles.
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Hip and hip flexor stretches: 8 exercises for tight hips after sitting, and how cupping prepares them
The hips stiffen from sitting: the hip flexors shorten, the glutes switch off and the lower back has to compensate. Here are eight exercises that stretch the hip flexors, glutes, inner thighs and outer hip, how to structure them, when not to stretch and how a short cupping session makes the stretches deeper.
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Lower back stretches and back exercises at home: 10 exercises that relieve and strengthen, and how cupping makes them easier
A stiff or sore lower back does best with movement, not rest. Here are ten exercises at home, five that stretch and loosen and five that strengthen, how to structure them, what to avoid and how a short cupping session beforehand makes the exercises easier.
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Tailbone pain (coccydynia): causes, seat cushion and self-care that helps, and how to cup the buttocks without touching the tailbone
Tailbone pain (coccydynia) makes sitting difficult and often starts after a fall, childbirth or long days on hard chairs. It usually heals on its own in weeks to months. Here are the causes, self-care with a seat cushion and offloading, when to see a doctor and how cupping of the gluteal muscles can be used without touching the tailbone itself.
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Upper back pain and pain between the shoulder blades: causes, exercises that help and cupping the upper back
Upper back pain and pain between the shoulder blades are usually due to stiff joints and tight muscles after a lot of sitting and screen work, but must be distinguished from heart, lung and stomach causes. Here are the causes, the warning signs, the exercises that help and how to cup the upper back.
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