But Phelps has already won three gold medals in Rio and is not finished yet.
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Cupping has been around for thousands of years, but many are seeing it for the first time and are wondering – what is that?
Back here at home, Julie Pommer of Healing Touch Message Clinic, uses the same therapy – not for Olympic athletes, but on people like you and me.
Cupping therapy is covered by most insurance plans as an alternative to medicine.
Anoka Massage and Pain Therapy says once the cups are used, they are cleaned to hospital standards. And, at $30 to $80 a session, it’s a fairly expensive treatment for what is essentially a glorified hickey.
“I guess athletes are trying to gain advantages, and even though research hasn’t proved that cupping works, there’s not a lot of research that says it doesn’t work”, he said.
Yet athletes like Phelps and US gymnast Alex Naddour seem to swear by the centuries-old traditional Chinese medicine practice, and have the purplish circle spots on their body caused by the technique to prove it. People in the Mahoning Valley are enjoying it, too. Theoretically, the technique draws blood to the area being suctioned, which is thought to reduce soreness and speed recovery. You don’t have the pain associate with the massage.
Some studies seem to have shown that cupping does provide some pain relief. Cupping therapy involves heating the air inside a glass cup, which removes some of the air from it.
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Phelps, who won the 19th Olympic gold medal of his career on Sunday and helped the US men’s team to victory in the 4×100 meters freestyle relay, is one of a number of Olympic athletes practicing “cupping”, an ancient Chinese healing practice. However, some argue the therapy works no better than a placebo.
