Introduction
The aliens at the Olympics have been amazing. We are captivated by the awe, admiration, and respect for the beyond belief levels of sustained brutal training, laser focus, and genius-level skills exhibited by those who soared to Olympic heights, let alone scaled the so-called peaks. podiums. And then there are people like Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles, Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and other Superpeople, who could not possibly have been born on this planet. Something is going on here, and I hope that Donald Trump will soon be asking direct questions, raising suspicions about these Promethean heroes and heroines who have infiltrated our midst, mere mortals.
Speaking of Michael Phelps, let me ask a question: “What about those circular bruises?” A little digging reveals that “Michael The Great” might suffer from a certain gullibility regarding New Age, alternative/integrative/traditional Chinese medicine BS.
Cupping is a fad that involves “the flow of one’s life force through the suction of hot glass vessels applied to the skin.” Holy hocus pocus. How is it that US Olympic officials or others allowed athletes to flaunt their cups on prime-time world television? Such appearances were gratuitous advertisements for pseudoscience. The exposure of the cupping marks on the winners lent an air of legitimacy to unfounded and potentially harmful treatments; all this was transmitted to the consciousness of impressionable children and gullible adults. Pity.
As for cupping, this nonsense has no medical or scientific basis and can be quite dangerous, often leading to burns and infection.
olympic gullibility
Did you observe the indicators of woo woo’s testimonials during the interviews? No, I’m not referring to the many signs of the cross before or after the races (is it a good luck charm or a request for help from a deity?). I am referring to the interviewees who stated: “I am so blessed” (unlike their rivals who were not blessed?), fingers in the air pointing to a god in the sky watching the event, or other indications that some athletes trust and believe in homeopathy, acupuncture, kinesiology tape, and yes, cupping.
What happened to the rabbit’s foot?
Cupping?
Basically, cupping involves someone placing hot cups or glass bulbs on your skin. Olympic athletes said they used cupping for pain relief in order to swim or run faster, jump higher, stay cooler, align their chakras and qi, and/or do whatever they wanted cupping to do for them. But of course they had to believe, that is, have faith, as in religion.
In addition to the ancient Chinese, it seems that some North American Indians were into cupping, as were the Egyptians over a thousand years before we got to AD 1. alternative medicine that could make a comeback one of these days, if a movie star, a celebrity or a Dr. Oz or Deepak recommends it.
In the past few days, ever since Phelps showed up to the 400 IM with cupping marks on his upper body, images have surfaced online showing cupping victims gone wrong. It can be dangerous to allow a charlatan to suck “poisons” or “toxins” out of your body. Doctors consider some brands of cupping to be second or even third degree burns. Such wounds can become infected and possibly septic.
Consider what a renowned physician named David Gorski wrote in “The Science Blog” on July 1, 2016:
Cupping is nothing more than an ancient medical practice based on a pre-scientific understanding of the body and disease, much like bloodletting and treatments based on the ‘Four Humors’. everything is risk without benefit. It has no place in modern medicine, or at least it shouldn’t. After all, we still don’t believe in the four humors that Hippocrates and ancient “Western” medicine invoked for hundreds of years. TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) is largely based on the same concepts, just under different names, substituting, for example, the ‘Five Elements’ for the ‘Four Humours’ and attributing disease to imbalances in them, such as the old western doctors attributed the disease to imbalances in the ‘Four Humours’. However, ‘integrative medicine’ rejects one and embraces the other when it should reject them both.
All hail the Olympians, anyway
Cupping and other superstitions aside, in my opinion there is nothing but amazement and appreciation for the magnificent performances put on by nearly every competitor (Hope Solo? Maybe not that much). Olympic athletes are truly amazing, even more so if they aren’t aliens after all.
Perhaps those who inadvertently promoted medical nonsense will use their platforms in the future to promote evidence-based medicine, scientific insight and skeptical research, and maybe even REAL wellness, for years to come.
Be well, enjoy the search and die healthy, but not until you are well and ready.