One woman had a nightmare experience with cupping after trying to relieve her injured shoulder.
According to the Daily Mail, the anonymous California woman tried the alternative pain relief method of cupping on her own using a hand-held pump to treat her injured shoulder. After falling asleep, she woke up to uncomfortable blisters forming in a ring shape on her shoulder.
The photo is pretty disturbing...which I'm not going to post it here. But you can view the photo of the cupping blister ring here.
According to doctors, the home cupping device damaged her skin because the vacuum effect was strong enough to split it. Typically cupping should not cause blisters if performed by a professional for no longer than 15 minutes.
Cupping is popular among athletes like Michael Phelps and, while there is little scientific evidence to back up health claims, it's said to relieve muscle pain.