After a long week, the idea of someone digging their fingers into my knotted shoulders sounds like a dream. But booking a massage weekly isn’t exactly available to me (time-wise or financially). So instead, I’ve turned to a number of at-home remedies for pent-up tension—massage guns, foam rollers, and even stretches (in certain situations) can provide some relief. My favorite, by far? Wavetools’ Glide Cups ($36, amazon.com), which are easy to use on stressed-out muscles from the comfort of my couch.
Wavetools Glide Cups
Each Wavetools set includes six silicone cups, a carrying case, a user guide, and a small container of balm to help the cups slide over your skin. Everything is designed to make cupping easy to do yourself at home—no appointment needed.
This therapeutic technique involves using suction cups on your skin to improve blood flow to the area and separate your connective tissues. It’s not new either: Cupping has been around for thousands of years, with some evidence of the practice dating back 5,500 years. So how does it work—and what can it do for you?
What are the benefits of cupping?
“Cupping creates suction, but what it’s really doing is lifting,” Milica McDowell, MS, DPT, a physical therapist, coach, and exercise physiologist, tells SELF. “The cups lift your skin off your fascia, and then lift the fascia off your muscles. It’s creating a vacuum and lifting to make more space.” Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds and supports all of your organs, including your muscles. When you’re stretched out and not stressed, your fascia is flexible and moves with you. But when it’s stiff or tight, it can tense up and limit your range of motion.
Cupping has different benefits depending on when you do it during your workout routine. Before exercising, it can help prep and warm up your muscles. “You could apply the cups pre-activity to whatever muscle group you will be using for 90 seconds to three minutes,” Dr. McDowell says—this helps activate your muscles and boost blood flow.
During your workout, you can use cupping to light up both your body and your brain: “You could put the cups on while doing squats,” she says. “It activates the muscles, trains your brain to be more aware of the area, and increases blood flow. As long as the cups stay on and your body is warm, you could wear them during an exercise to promote that physical and mental awareness.”