This year’s Olympics are now in full swing and it’s all eyes on the athletes.
From archery and shooting to athletics and gymnastics, there’s all kind of sports taking place across Paris, France, at the moment.
One fan-favorite sport to watch is the swimming, and this year there’s a whopping 854 athletes from 187 different countries competing.
But there’s a common theme you might have spotted with some of the swimmers and that’s the unusual dark red circles they have on their backs.
While it might look like they’ve had a fight with an octopus and lost, there’s a very different reason for the odd markings.
It turns out that the large spots are from cupping therapy – an ancient healing technique that involves placing cups on the skin to create suction and increase blood flow to the area.
The unconventional method is supposed to help with muscle recovery and is used as a type of deep tissue massage.
Some athletes were spotted with cupping therapy bruises back at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and it’s still seemingly popular now.
Gymnast Alexander Naddour told USA Today back in 2016 that cupping was supposedly the ‘secret’ to his health.
He added: “It’s been better than any money I’ve spent on anything else.”
Away from the Games, basketball player Kyle Singler has also praised cupping therapy.
“The bruises do look more intense than what they actually feel like, but the benefit from it is really great,” he previously insisted.
Singler continued to tell Sports Illustrated: “You’re not necessarily getting the immediate response that you might want but over time it does help with recovery and loosening tissue and stuff like that.”
But does cupping therapy actually work according to experts? It’s seems as if the jury’s still out.
According to Harvard Health, some studies have found that cupping might provide some relief for a number of musculoskeletal and sports-related conditions. The quality of this evidence was ‘limited’, however.
Elsewhere a 2022 review found that wet (as opposed to dry cupping) was effective for lower back pain.
While the bruises people get from cupping are pretty gnarly, the therapy is generally seen as safe to practice – even if people aren’t 100 percent on how affective it is.
“Most experts agree that cupping is safe. As long as those treated don’t mind the circular discolorations (which fade over a number of days or weeks), side effects tend to be limited to the pinch experienced during skin suction,” Harvard Health explains.
“It’s quite unusual that cupping causes any serious problems (though, rarely, skin infections have been reported).”
There you have it, folks.
Angelina Jolie’s former security guard comes out with shocking allegations against her in Brad Pitt case
According to the documents, Webb was the “head of Jolie’s security detail for two decades, and he remained in that role for approximately four years after the couple divorced.”
Webb stated that Jolie “required him and his contractors to sign NDAs relating to various personal and professional details of her, and her family’s, life.”
After the couple filed for divorce, they had a major custody battle over their six children. According to the documents, Webb claimed he “received multiple calls from Jolie’s representative, who told Mr. Webb to remind his staff that they had entered into NDAs with Jolie and that if they testified in a custody proceeding, Jolie would sue them.”
Webb said that he had conveyed the message to his contractors, and both of them confirmed that they would testify if they were to be subpoenaed.
The documents further claimed that “one of them told Webb that ‘he would testify about statements he overheard that Ms. Jolie made to the children, encouraging them to avoid spending time with Mr. Pitt during custody visits.’”
The documents also stated that the “the two security contractors both testified” despite being threated with being sued and shortly after, Mr. Webb’s company was fired by Jolie.
Webb himself does not claim to have heard Jolie’s directive instructing the children not to interact with Pitt during custody visits. He now also works for Pitt.
Jolie’s attorney, Paul Murphy has since then addressed the media over this matter. He said in a statement, “Mr. Pitt’s continued attempt to equate common NDAs for security personnel and housekeepers covering confidential information employees learn at work, with him demanding an expanded NDA to ensure the continued coverup of his deplorable actions remains shameful.” “This case is not about NDAs in general, but about power and control. All Angelina has ever wanted was separation and health, with positive relationships between all members of their family, including Mr. Pitt. She looks forward to the day when he is finally able to let her go,” the statement further read.
The latest filing comes after over a month after Jolie’s lawyer filed documents claiming that Pitt had been physically abusive toward her even before the alleged infamous plane incident of 2016. That incident, according to documents, was the final straw in asking for a divorce.
The motion that Jolie’s legal team filed in early April, most revolved around the dispute over their shares of ownership in their French winery estate, Château Miraval.
Her legal team filed a motion asking the court to compel Pitt and his legal team to provide “responses” and “documents” that explained why the actor “suddenly conditioned his purchase of Jolie’s share of Miraval on her agreeing to a greatly expanded NDA now covering Pitt’s personal misconduct, whether related to Miraval or not.”
Jolie firmly claims that this move to demand NDAs was Pitt’s attempt to “cover up” the alleged abuse against Jolie and their children.
Pitt was never charged with a crime after authorities investigated the 2016 plane incident.
In contrast to what Jolie’s legal team is saying, Pitt’s lawyers allege that it was Jolie and her team who requested a “broader” NDA.
Leave a Reply