Cupping Therapy for Pickleball Players in Sarasota: Recovery, Pain Relief, and Performance
Cupping! One of my favorite multitasking techniques! I love to use cups to work on treating the lower back while I work on other areas of the back.
Pickleball is booming in Sarasota, and so are the injuries that come with it. Whether you’re playing at Payne Park, Sarasota Pickleball Club, or local neighborhood courts, it’s no secret that the sport is tough on your muscles, tendons, and joints.
One recovery tool that’s gaining popularity among athletes (yes, even Olympic swimmers) is cupping therapy. At Well Co Chiropractic, we use cupping as part of our integrated treatment approach to help Sarasota pickleball players recover faster, reduce pain, and stay on the court.
Cups come in varieties of materials. Ancient Chinese medicine often uses glass and utilizes a technique called fire cupping!
Cups don’t stay on for longer than 10 minutes at a time and each one is cleaned and sanitized between patients.
What Is Cupping Therapy?
Cupping is a technique that uses special cups to create suction on the skin. This negative pressure helps:
Increase blood flow to sore tissues
Reduce muscle tension and adhesions
Promote lymphatic drainage (helping flush out inflammation)
Stimulate healing in overused muscles and tendons
Unlike deep tissue massage, which compresses muscles, cupping gently lifts the tissue, giving tight areas more space to recover.
In a traditional sense: Cupping is a form of medicine practiced in China and the Middle East, and is even mentioned in one of the oldest medical texts, Eber’s papyrus (1550 B.C.E.) from Ancient Egypt. Traditional practitioners of cupping believe that it helps to stimulate the body’s Qi, or life force, and balances the body’s yin and yang, or positive and negative energies. Some believe that one of the benefits of cupping therapy is the release of toxins from the body.
Cupping therapy for low back pain in office at Well Co, in Sarasota, FL
Why Pickleball Players Benefit from Cupping
Pickleball demands quick stops, lunges, and overhead swings, movements that often lead to overuse injuries. The most common conditions we see in Sarasota pickleball athletes include:
Pickleball elbow (similar to tennis elbow) → forearm tendon irritation
Shoulder pain/rotator cuff irritation → from overhead smashes
Knee and quad tightness → from lunging and quick pivots
Low back pain → from rotational stress and prolonged play
Cupping helps by:
Improving circulation in overworked forearms and shoulders
Reducing adhesions in quads, calves, and back muscles
Decreasing post-match soreness
Supporting tissue recovery so you can play more consistently
Research on Cupping
While more high-quality studies are emerging, evidence shows that cupping can:
Reduce musculoskeletal pain and improve function
Decrease muscle stiffness and improve range of motion
Support recovery when combined with exercise and manual therapy
In clinical practice, pickleball players often report feeling “lighter” and moving with less restriction after cupping sessions.
Why We Combine Cupping with Active Release & Rehab
At Well Co Chiropractic, we rarely use cupping as a stand-alone treatment. Instead, we combine it with:
Active Release Technique (ART): Hands-on therapy to break down scar tissue
Chiropractic Adjustments of the thoracic spine
Rehab exercises: To strengthen the muscles and prevent recurrence
Sport-specific guidance: So Sarasota athletes can return to pickleball with better mechanics and less risk of re-injury
This integrative approach means faster results and more lasting relief.
Ready to Try Cupping for Pickleball Pain?
Whether you’re battling sore shoulders, tight quads, or nagging elbow pain, cupping can be a powerful tool in your recovery toolbox. At Well Co Chiropractic in Sarasota, Dr. Sandy Arthur uses cupping, ART, and rehab to keep pickleball players performing at their best.
