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I had the "fire cups" in conjunction with acupuncture for a shoulder I damaged in a bad fall while out running. The latter involved a 5 inch needle in my calf muscle for an hour while I rotated the arm attached to the damaged shoulder clockwise and anti-clockwise for an hour. And then 15 needles stuck in across my back and into the damaged shoulder for 15 minutes, followed by ten minutes of the "fire cups".

My conclusion - it was the rotation that made the shoulder better. The rest was just for show and pantomime.

A Chinese therapist performs fire cupping on the back of a local resident at a parlor in Tianjin, China, 11 August 2016. [Photo/IC]