History of Medicine

Bloodletting is a form of wet cupping and was a very common medical procedure in the Classical times. Because illness was thought to be caused by an imbalance of bodily fluids or humors, ancient physicians like Hippocrates figured draining the bad blood from a sick person would bring back good health. Although bloodletting was popular in ancient Greece and Rome, it originated in ancient Egypt like other forms of cupping as I mentioned in my last post.  In the procedure, a surgeon would first tie the patient’s arm to make the veins swell, then make an incision and drain out blood. The famous Greek physician Erasistratus taught that all illnesses were caused by an excess of blood, or plethora, so bloodletting was meant to return the body to its normal state. Even Galen who developed the concept of plethora or excessive humors recommended bloodletting widely for illnesses such as fevers and headaches, and expanded its use in the Roman empire. Ancient vase depicting bloodletting. Image: L

As I mentioned in my previous post, cupping can be done in two ways: dry or wet. Although dry cupping is the more common procedure used by athletes, wet cupping also has a fan following. Interestingly, both therapeutic approaches originated in ancient times, and apparently separately. Wet cupping derived from a distinctly different therapy called bloodletting which was very common in antiquity. In other words, I think modern wet cupping might be a combination of the ancient therapies of cupping and bloodletting (will need to dig deeper for confirmation of this fact). Wet cupping is similar to dry cupping in that it creates a mild suction by leaving a cup in place for a few minutes, but it is followed by the therapist making a tiny cut on the skin using a small scalpel. A second suction on top of that area draws out blood- a small quantity, but significant nonetheless! Although I would be too freaked out to try it, it has its supporters, and a recent study even found that it might be ef

Someone asked me what was cupping after I mentioned it in a recent post, so I decided to write a post explaining the ancient medical practice. Athletes, particularly swimmers, routinely show up with cupping marks on their bodies as seen in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. The telltale red circles were first seen on Michael Phelps' torso at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Since then, it has become a popular therapy among athletes from swimming to gymnastics to football. I had a firsthand experience with cupping (No, I am not brave enough to try it!), but I got a peek of it when my old neighbor, former Patriots player Dwayne Allen, was getting it done on his back in his living room with the front door wide open! My brother now swears by it, so that's another personal experience I can claim. Michael Phelps showing cupping marks. Image: A-Team Performance Cupping is a procedure done primarily to reduce pain and inflammation but also for relaxation and to improve blood flow. Phelps and

The concept of a team doctor is thought to have started when a Canadian doctor, Dr. J.C. Kennedy,  first organized a medical team to travel with the 1972 Canadian Olympic team to Munich. Such was the impact of that decision that bringing along specialized sports physicians to high-level sporting events soon became standard practice. The team physician's job is to ensure the health and performance of the athletes. Now each professional sports team has its own team medical staff that travels with and treats the athletes to personal medical care. Although the concept has gained popularity only recently, the world's first team doctor is really Galen (real name: Claudius Galenos), the renowned Greek physician of the 2nd century AD. Galen started off his career as a personal doctor to the gladiators in a gladiatorial school in Pergamum, where he learned much of his knowledge about treating wounds. He was responsible for the health and well-being of the gladiators and also responsible

Who hasn't seen an athlete with a sports tape (aka kinesiology tape) applied strategically to their knee, shoulder, or some other part? Circular red welts on swimmers' torsos became a common sight after  Michael Phelps introduced the practice of cupping at the Rio Olympics (I remember someone asking if he had accidentally fallen asleep on his medals and suffered bruises from them!) 😀. It is now common practice for athletes to consult with doctors specialized in treating sports injuries and ensuring they are in their best physical (and mental) condition. The latest to demonstrate this is Simone Biles who withdrew from the Olympics team gymnastics event after consulting with her medical staff to focus on her mental health. Sports medicine is a specialized field of medicine that focuses on the treatment and prevention of illness and injury caused by exercising, participating in a sport, or doing any type of physical activity. Sports physicians require additional training in diffe

A list of the weirdest and most fascinating trivia about ancient sports that I found. 1. Mayans played a game similar to basketball with human skulls.💀 2. Ancient Olympic runners ran stark naked. The tradition began when a runner lost his loincloth while running and tripped on it. Soon it became a tradition to run without any clothes on. And after a female coach was caught disguised as a man to coach her son (females were banned from participating or coaching in ancient Greece 😒), all coaches were required to be naked too (to prove they were males)! 3. Nudity even gave us the word gymnasium -- it is derived from the ancient Greek word for naked,  gymnos .  4. One running event called Hoplitodromos required athletes to run decked out in full armor (while still naked!), The armor weighed 70 pounds- when they tried to recreate the sport recently, no one was able to go more than halfway of the 400 meters,  Amphora showing Hoplitodromos sport 5. Other sports required nudity as well-- in w

As the Tokyo Olympic Games kick off amid all the controversy regarding the decision to hold the games during a surge in covid-19 cases, it's time to celebrate the essence and history of the Olympic Games. The modern Olympics, held every four years are of course modeled after the ancient Olympic Games, known as "Olympiaki agones" as a series of athletic competitions among city-states of ancient Greece. As with all things in ancient Greece, the games had mythological origin and were held in honor of Zeus. His son, Heracles (Roman Hercules) is credited as the founder of the games. The first Olympics was held in 776 BCE (according to Aristotle) and soon became the most popular sporting event for centuries in ancient Greece. It was held every four years like the modern version of the games but it was held in the same location, Olympia, each time. Winners were honored with an olive branch It continued without interruption for almost 12 centuries (until 393 AD when the stadium w