Cupping
How Manual Therapy Helps Reduce Pain and Improve Movement
Manual Therapy – for Pain, Stiffness, and Better Movement
Manual soft tissue therapy is a hands-on approach used to reduce pain, restore movement, and help tissue heal more completely. It focuses on how muscles, fascia, and connective tissue move, slide, and respond to stress or injury.
At Big Easy Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine in Metairie, LA, manual therapy is often used alongside acupuncture for neck pain, back pain, and pinched nerve conditions where stiffness or irritation keeps symptoms from fully resolving.
How Inflammation and Adhesions Affect Pain and Movement
Inflammation is a normal part of healing. When tissue is stressed, injured, or overused, the body sends more blood to the area to help it repair. This process is meant to be temporary.
When healing goes well, swelling settles down, tissue softens, and movement returns to normal.
Problems happen when healing does not fully finish or keeps getting restarted. This can occur with repeated strain, poor posture, long hours at work, or old injuries that never healed well. Instead of returning to normal, tissue can become stiff, thick, and less flexible.
These stiff areas are often called adhesions.
Over time, adhesions can build up and change how tissue moves. They can limit range of motion, reduce strength, increase tension, and irritate nearby nerves. This is one reason pain can keep coming back even when rest, stretching, or exercise helps only for a short time. continue reading
Acupuncture & Cupping: The Basics
Cupping and acupuncture are a powerful combination for relieving chronic pain, muscle tightness, and tension. At Big Easy Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine in Metairie, we use cupping to help patients restore comfort, mobility, and relaxation.
You’ve probably seen professional athletes or celebrities with the telltale red circles on their skin — that’s cupping! Here’s what you need to know if you’re thinking about adding it to your acupuncture treatment. continue reading
Winning Combination: Cupping & Acupuncture
Cupping is a simple yet effective therapy that can complement acupuncture by easing muscle tightness, improving movement, and calming stressed tissues. At Big Easy Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine, we often use cupping to help patients feel looser, lighter, and more comfortable in their day-to-day activities.
You may have seen athletes using cupping marks as part of their recovery routines. If you’re considering cupping for your own care, this guide explains how it works and why it helps.
