Cupping guides
Back pain in pregnancy: why it hurts (lower back, pelvis and pelvic girdle pain, sciatica, upper back), which kind of pain you have, when to contact your midwife, and what helps: exercises, sleeping position, everyday tricks, belt and gentle cupping
Two in three pregnant women get back pain, usually from mid-pregnancy, and many get it already in the first trimester when hormones soften the ligaments. The pain sits in two places that are often confused: in the lower back (above the pelvis, dull, worse with standing and bending forward) and in the pelvis (below the belt line, over the sacrum, in the groins or at the pubic bone, worse with turning in bed, stairs and standing on one leg: pelvic girdle pain). Add sciatica radiating down the leg, and upper back pain from heavier breasts and changed posture. Almost all of it is harmless and passes after birth, but there is a lot you can do in the meantime. Here is how to tell the types apart, the warning signs that mean midwife or emergency (regular pain coming and going in waves before week 37, bleeding, fever, difficulty urinating, numbness in the genital area), and what helps: daily exercises for pelvis, back and glutes, sleeping position with a pillow between the knees, a pelvic belt, everyday tricks for getting up and turning over, heat, a physiotherapist, and gentle cupping of lower back and glutes that many pregnant women benefit greatly from, with the rules that apply.
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Back pain: where does it hurt? Lower back, upper back, between the shoulder blades, tailbone, one side, radiating pain – the causes, the warning signs and where to find the right guide
Back pain is the most common musculoskeletal complaint and in nine cases out of ten harmless and self-limiting, but it matters where it sits, how it feels and how it started. This guide is a map: lower back (lumbago, long-standing low back pain, herniated disc, sciatica, the SI joint), upper back and between the shoulder blades, neck and upper back, tailbone, pain on one side (kidneys, muscle, SI joint), pain radiating down the leg, back pain at night, in pregnancy and in older people (compression fracture, osteoporosis). Here you find the causes, the warning signs that mean medical care, what helps in general (movement, not rest; strength; sleep; cupping of the muscles, never on the vertebrae) and links to the right in-depth guide.
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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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Sciatica: why it radiates down the leg, self-care that helps and how cupping can (and cannot) be used
Sciatica is pain radiating from the lower back or buttock down the leg, usually because the sciatic nerve is irritated by a disc herniation or a narrowed nerve canal. Most people recover within six to twelve weeks. Here is what helps, the warning signs, and what cupping can and cannot do.
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Lumbago (acute low back pain): what to do the first days, self-care that works and gentle cupping
Lumbago, or acute low back pain, is a sudden stabbing pain in the lower back, often with a lift or a twist. It is almost always harmless and settles on its own. Here is what to do the first days, when to see a doctor and how to use cupping once the worst is over.
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Back pain and lower back pain: self-care that helps, what to avoid and when to see a doctor
Almost everyone gets back pain at some point, most often in the lower back. Most of it is harmless and eases with movement and heat, not rest. How to find the right guide for where it hurts, what to do at home, how to cup the lower back safely, and when to see a doctor.
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