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RIO 2016
2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games

Michael Phelps and me: Secrets of cupping

Josh Peter
USA TODAY Sports
Michael Phelps (USA) competes during the men's 200m butterfly semi-finls in Rio 2016 Summer Olympic games at Olympic Aquatics Stadium.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Breaking news: Michael Phelps and I now have something visibly in common here during the Summer Olympics.

Sure, I almost drowned during a swim meet at summer camp when I was in junior high. And I wouldn’t dare be caught in one of the form-fitting swimsuits Phelps wore while winning a gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay the other night. But I do have the same distinctive purple spots that have dotted Phelps’ shoulders and back at the Rio Games.

That’s right, I underwent the “cupping" therapy that has sparked curiosity among TV viewers across the world. And I did it despite of the anxiety-inducing question: Just how excruciating is it?

To get the answer, on Tuesday morning I took a taxi from the Olympic Park to the Royal Tulip Hotel, where I met with Ralph Reiff. If you know much about cupping, you should know the burly and affable Reiff.

He said he has worked with Peyton Manning and more than 100 athletes on the U.S. Olympic team, and he suggested the experience would be pain free. Until I pressed for details, that is.

“The very worst that this can be is a pretty good pinch or a bee-sting response,’’ said Reiff, executive director of St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis who is here to work with members of the U.S. gymnastics, diving and track and field teams. “So depending on what your affinity is to bee stings, that can either be no big deal or you’ll be running out the door.’’

How cupping works and why Olympic athletes use it

The cupping soon commenced. The benefits of cupping for athletes can include speedier recovery and increased motion of muscles, but critics question its effectiveness.

Reiff affixed the rubber suction cup on my upper back and I felt a slight pull as he slid it to the left.

“You are a responder,’’ he said with laugh.

A responder? How did he know?

Reporter Josh Peter had cupping done on his back, just like several athletes competing at the Rio Olympics.

“Because you are discolored right in this area,’’ he said, gently pressing on my right shoulder as the first of two purple welts appeared.

A few minutes later, Reiff moved the suction cup onto the inside of my left shin. He pressed. Pulled. Slid. Ouch!

Light-bee sting pain. I stayed put.

Moments later, the 10-minute cupping session came to a less-than-excruciating end despite the two purple circles on my back that surely would have impressed Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 23 medals and countless purple circles.

How cupping works and why Olympic athletes use it


“Discoloration is not a sign of a good therapy or a bad therapy, of a good response or a bad response,’’ Reiff said. “The measure of success from our perspective is the feedback from the athlete. What’s that feedback? How do you feel? What are we trying to accomplish?’’

Hmm. What were we trying to accomplish? Without a chance to win an Olympic medal, I would settle for the Pulitzer Prize. But Reiff made no guarantees. 

“You will write better, you’ll think better,’’ he said, and I think I heard him chuckle.

A couple of hours later, I knocked out this story. A better writer and better thinker after cupping?

Guess you’ll have to be the judge.

PHOTOS: BEST SHOTS FROM RIO


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