RIO DE JANEIRO — This weekend’s swimming exploits brought a new word — and somewhat of a strange concept — to the fore for many American fans: cupping.
Certainly, you might have noticed the large red circles on the body of American star Michael Phelps. Those are cup marks, a process that Dana Vollmer, who won a silver in the 4x100 relay, and a bronze in the butterfly, described as, “negative massage.” The results, a series of circular bruises, however, she described a little less technically: “It looks like we got attacked by an octopus.”
Technically, the process is called myofascial decompression, but because it is conducted by placing suction cups on the body, it’s called cupping.