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Why Cupping Therapy, Intraoral Massage And P-DTR are my 3 Favorite Techniques To Blend for Treatment

Since leaving behind my civil engineering career and graduating Cortiva Institute of Massage Therapy in July 2017 I have learned a large variety of techniques involving Massage Therapy, Functional Neurology and Sports Medicine. However, of all these techniques in the past 5 years there are 3 that have become my favorite. I of course use swedish massage and deep tissue in my sessions but Cupping, Intraoral, and Proprioceptive-Deep Tendon Reflex have allowed me to take my treatment results and soft tissue work to new heights and longer lasting results.


The amazing thing about these 3 techniques is they are not only extremely powerful by themselves, but actually support each other providing a synergistic effect.



Why Cupping Therapy "lifts" my treatment to new heights

I first learned of cupping therapy in 2018 and since then it has severely changed me and my clients lives. It is not only a fantastic way to treat clients inside Level Up Massage but clients are also able to have their own set at home for self-care cupping therapy.


What is Cupping Therapy?

Cupping uses devices that can range from a variety of materials to create a lift of the tissue. This is also known as Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM).


There are a lot of different ways to use cups including:

  • Dynamic cupping movement where the cup is glided over the body

  • Static cupping where the cup stays in one place

  • Flash cupping which uses a suction-release method

  • Lifting connective tissue.

  • Release rigid tissue such as adhesions and scar tissue.

  • Flushing capillary beds and draining excess fluids.

  • Deeply engage the parasympathetic nervous system.

  • Bring blood to stagnant skin and muscles.

  • Activate the secretion of synovial fluids to release stiff joints.

  • Increase space for muscles to move.


How Intraoral and P-DTR compliment cupping

When I first started jaw work I found facial cupping to be one of the most beneficial techniques to release the jaw. However, after I took my intraoral massage class my results for Temporal Mandibular Joint Disorder (TMJD) related issues has never been better. Now I use cupping therapy as a compliment to my TMJD intraoral work.


Cupping therapy is a great way to loosen that soft tissue, but the soft tissue may just be an outcome of a nervous system issue. If there are muscles that won't loosen or keep feeling tight and painful even after a massage then using P-DTR to get to the root of the issue is the right choice. I often find cupping feels much better and more relaxing after a neural approach first.


Intraoral Massage has become the specialty I never expected

When I was in massage therapy school I thought the idea of working inside the mouth was something I would never want to do. However, while working in a clinic setting I noticed more and more clients coming in with TMJD issues and my swedish work on the face just wasn't cutting it anymore. After I took intraoral massage I was getting better results than ever and it's been one of the best self-care tools for me and my clients.

This is a treatment targeted towards people who are experiencing:

  • Headaches & Migraines

  • Jaw Tension

  • Teeth Grinding

  • Postural Dysfunctions, Head Forward Posture

  • Facial Pain

  • Difficulty Chewing

  • Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Dysfunction.

  • ​Injuries/Strains in the Jaw


How Cupping Therapy and P-DTR compliment intraoral massage

Facial Cupping has been one of my favorite ways to add extra value to the end of an intraoral session and can provide long lasting results. On top of that one of my favorite uses for cupping around the jaw is to bring in blood to the area and pull up stagnate blood to make sure the tissues can properly heal. Other added benefits include the fascial work and stimulating the lymphatic system.


Proprioceptive Deep Tendon Reflex (P-DTR) is one of the most powerful tools to combine with jaw issues. This is because we can work on whats causing the jaw muscles to act the way they do due to information going to the brain and producing the response.


  • The body often has jaw muscles inhibited or hypertonic (locked) that needs to be addressed neurally

  • Jaw is often overworking for other areas/dysfunctions of the body

  • Overactive muscles may be due to emotional or stress/adrenal related issues

  • Jaw muscles can also be linked to knee ligaments, meridians, and much more


Proprioceptive-Deep Tendon Reflex (P-DTR)

Proprioceptive Deep Tendon reflex is a technique that focuses on the creating long lasting changes in the nervous system that can affect multiple systems of the body. This is done by using muscle testing to figure out how the muscles react when challenged and using this information to find the neurological source of the problem. From here we are able to find the receptors providing incorrect data to the brain and update it so your body can create more effective and pain free patterns.


What are some benefits to P-DTR?

  • Resolve Long term problems you’ve “learned to live with”

  • Treat the source of the issue and not the symptom

  • Increase range of motion

  • Eliminate lingering dysfunction and pain from chronic injuries or accidents

  • Deal with emotional Trauma

  • Decrease ankle sprains

  • Increase strength output by restoring muscles

  • Maximize balance and stability

  • Improve muscular coordination

  • Decrease stress and the associate chronic effects.


How Cupping Therapy and Intraoral Massage compliment P-DTR

P-DTR is a great way to update the way the body uses muscles and movement patterns. After these corrections are made providing soft tissue manipulation is a great way to help the creating lasting changes and increasing blood flow to the muscles that have been chronically tight.


Coming December 2022... Visceral Manipulation

This work entails the assessments of the organs (viscera) and the fascial and ligamentous attachments to the musculoskeletal system. I am hoping this will be another great tool and will be a great synergist for my P-DTR work.


Schedule Your Bodywork Session Today:


Learn more about P-DTR here:


Learn more about Intraoral Massage here:


Learn more about Cupping Therapy here:






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