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<p>MOOSIC &#8212; While cupping therapy dates back to 1550 B.C., when it was used by ancient Egyptians, the form of alternative therapy was center stage at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.</p><p>Athletes &#8212; most notably Michael Phelps &#8212; were sporting odd circular bruises on their shoulders and backs. And ever since the Rio Games, cupping seems to have been at the center of the athletic world.</p><p>From Brazilian soccer star Neymar to North Carolina men&#8217;s basketball guard Joel Berry, more and more athletes are starting to use the ancient muscle therapy technique, which helps with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, according to WebMB. Even in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders clubhouse, catchers Eddy Rodriguez and Kyle Higashioka, pitchers Tyler Jones, Tyler Webb and Luis Cessa and first baseman Ji-Man Choi sport the circular bruises.</p><p>&#8220;I think a lot of guys do it after they throw,&#8221; Jones said. &#8220;I know some of the position players do it when they&#8217;re tight. Like Ji-Man will get it done on his legs when he&#8217;s tight before a game. Eddy will do it on his back. A lot of pitchers do it post-throwing, kind of recovery.&#8221;</p><p>Even though cupping therapy was brought into the national spotlight in 2016, players like Rodriguez and Webb have been using the muscle therapy for a few years now. Rodriguez first started when he was in Double-A two years ago, thanks to the guidance of Trenton Thunder athletic trainer Lee Meyer.</p><p>&#8220;So he starts doing the one where he applies a little suction and you move it around whatever&#8217;s tight. Well that hurt, and I&#8217;m kind of a wuss when it comes to that and I couldn&#8217;t handle the pain when it comes to that,&#8221; Rodriguez said. &#8220;So he goes, &#8216;All right, we&#8217;ll put a bunch and let it sit for 15-20 minutes.&#8217; I started doing it and the next day I felt great. So that&#8217;s when it started.</p><p>&#8220;To tell you the truth, my reason for doing it is I got the cupping set on Amazon for $30, and that accomplishes the same thing for me as a massage therapist does. A massage therapist is a little more expensive than the $30 set of cups.&#8221;</p><p>While some players cup their lower back or their shoulder and scapula, it&#8217;s all done for the same reason. Players cup to rejuvenate their body after excessive work.</p><p>Cupping recycles new blood into the affected areas of the body, and the positive effects can be felt right away, according to Jones.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m no doctor or scientist, but I think that the premise is it&#8217;s pulling the skin up and the bad blood up, kind of activating the blood vessels and letting it bruise, and the bruising is when that fresh blood comes in and kind of carries that bad blood away,&#8221; Jones said.</p><p>&#8220;Especially, like here,&#8221; he said pointing to his right shoulder, &#8220;my shoulder was killing me for two straight days, did the cupping and (felt it) immediately.&#8221;</p><p>Even though cupping therapy isn&#8217;t mandated by the RailRiders or the New York Yankees, according to RailRiders trainer Darren London, Rodriguez estimates that half the team uses the alternative therapy.</p><p>However, the rate at which players cup ranges on personal preference. Rodriguez cups every couple days, but both Jones and Webb use the therapy on a basis of need. Most of the time the two pitchers will only cup once a month.</p><p>Jones even used it on his left arm once, even though he&#8217;s a righty.</p><p>&#8220;For me, it&#8217;s just feeling. Kind of like, if I need it,&#8221; Jones said. &#8220;Like the other day, I threw three innings and my right arm felt great, but my left arm hurt terribly. I don&#8217;t know if it was from a lift &#8212; maybe I slept on it weird &#8212; and so I was super tight and it was hurting me. So I was like, &#8216;Yo, can we cup that?&#8217; Darren&#8217;s like, &#8216;Your left arm?&#8217; I was like, &#8216;Yeah.&#8217; So he cupped it and it got super dark.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s kind of one of those things, like I&#8217;ll do it every once and a while. It&#8217;s not in my routine,&#8221; Webb added. &#8220;Like (after) a long relief appearance. If I feel like I&#8217;m not bouncing back the way I should.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders catcher Eddy Rodriguez gets his uniform out for batting practice after partaking in cupping therapy earlier in the day at PNC Field. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Railriders-Rodrigruez-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders catcher Eddy Rodriguez gets his uniform out for batting practice after partaking in cupping therapy earlier in the day at PNC Field. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Railriders-Rodrigruez-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre catcher Eddy Rodriguez is just one of a handful of RailRiders who use the alternative therapy called cupping. Rodriguez used cupping therapy on his scapula before a game on May 20. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Railriders-Rodrigruez-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre catcher Eddy Rodriguez is just one of a handful of RailRiders who use the alternative therapy called cupping. Rodriguez used cupping therapy on his scapula before a game on May 20. </caption1><photoCredit1>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Railriders-Rodrigruez-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders catcher Eddy Rodriguez says he partakes in cupping therapy every couple of days. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Railriders-Rodrigruez-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders catcher Eddy Rodriguez says he partakes in cupping therapy every couple of days. </caption2><photoCredit2>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>RailRiders using muscle therapy to rebound</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By DJ Eberle</p><p>djeberle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle</p></shirttailMeta></div>

RailRiders Weekend Feature: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre cupping its way to success