Cupping Therapy and IASTM in Newport Beach

If you've seen the round marks on athletes' shoulders at the Olympics, you've seen cupping. If you've watched a practitioner glide a contoured steel tool along tight muscle, you've seen IASTM. Both are tools I use daily at Wholistic Abode — not as trends, but because they solve a specific problem: tissue that stays stubbornly tight no matter how much you stretch it.

I'm Dr. Julie Stefanski, and in my Newport Beach practice, cupping and instrument-assisted work are woven into full treatment sessions alongside chiropractic adjustment — where they make each other work better.

How cupping works

Most hands-on therapy compresses tissue — pushing down into the muscle. Cupping is the only tool that does the opposite: gentle suction lifts the tissue, creating space between layers that have become stuck together, drawing fresh blood flow into areas that have been tight and undernourished for months. That decompression is why cupping can release tension that pressure alone can't reach.

About those marks: the circles cupping sometimes leaves aren't bruises — they're the sign of old, stagnant blood being drawn to the surface so the body can clear it. They fade in a few days, and most patients wear them like a badge of honor.

What IASTM is

IASTM stands for instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization — in my office, using the FAKTR approach. A contoured tool lets me find and treat restrictions with a precision fingers can't match, breaking up adhesions and scar tissue and stimulating the body's own repair process. It's especially effective for old injuries, tendon issues, and that gristly, cranky tissue that's been tight for years.

Better together

Cupping lifts and decompresses. IASTM finds and remodels. The adjustment restores joint motion underneath it all. That's the logic of every session here: your body gets treated as one connected system, not a list of separate techniques. Every session is tailored — some days call for cups, some for tools, some for neither. You get what your tissue actually needs.

Does insurance cover this?

We work with most PPO plans. Text us before your first visit and we'll check your benefits for free — it takes five minutes. (HMO and Kaiser plans don't apply.)

Wholistic Abode Chiropractic · 2830 Newport Blvd, Newport Beach, CA 92663 · (949) 447-7545 · Book online or text us to schedule.