The ancient Chinese muscle therapy called "cupping" evidenced by huge, round purple blotches on the skin of some Chinese and American athletes, is creating media waves at the ongoing 2016 Summer Olympics at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

This therapy, which was begun by the Egyptians in 1550 BC and later made famous by the Chinese, became viral when huge circular cupping marks were seen on the shoulders and arms of legendary American swimmer, Michael Phelps, who has won 19 Olympic swimming gold medals since 2008. Phelps has admitted to be a believer in cupping.

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"It's very much common in our practice,'' said Ralph Reiff, executive director of the St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis. "We've found it to be an effective alternative therapy to add to our toolkit of resources.''

The huge skin blotches caused by cupping have been humorously described as "giant hickeys" (kiss marks) or monstrous chickenpox scars, among others.

Cupping is described as an Egyptian/Chinese traditional medicine technique that allegedly relieves ailments including back neck and shoulder pain. The Chinese claim cupping is said to move energy, or "qi," in the body. The therapy is also widely used in folk medicine in eastern Europe.

The Chinese, who have been using cupping for thousands of years, describe it as a form of acupuncture where hot cups are placed on the skin to create a vacuum. They believe cupping helps mobilize blood flow to promote muscle healing. The process is painless but those huge purple blotches make it appear otherwise.

In the Chinese technique, cupping works by creating a vacuum inside an earthen or glass cup by inserting a flame, removing it and quickly placing the cup on to the body before the vacuum is lost.

In the West, therapists replace the earthen or glass cup with plastic cups and the flame with a suction device.

Generally, however, western doctors frown on cupping and say it has no proven medical benefits. Medical societies are skeptical of the health claims made by cupping therapy supporters.

"Available scientific evidence does not support cupping as a cure for cancer or any other disease," said the American Cancer Society. "Reports of successful treatment with cupping are mainly anecdotal rather than from research studies."

Tagscupping, 2016 Summer Olympics, michael phelps, traditional medicine technique