Abstract
The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, better known as the 2024 Summer Olympics or simply Paris 2024, have come to an end. Tom Cruise picked up the Olympic flag in Paris and, in less than a minute (hey, he’s Tom Cruise!), took it by motorcycle and plane to LA, where the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg on Venice Beach have already set the mood for the U.S. version of the world games of sports. Pure Californian lifestyle after Parisian splendor and elegance.
Partly contrary to expectations, the Olympic Games can be considered a tremendous success. After the acts of sabotage at the beginning of the games and the very rainy (but epochal) opening ceremony, there were barely any unexpected incidents, at least none that reached the general public. Instead, the Games brought with them countless stories of their own: of the Olympic premiere (which is presumably also a farewell) of breaking, many will unfortunately mainly remember the kangaroo poses in the Australian performance. U.S. gymnast Simone Biles missed out on the Olympic record, but still brings home an impressive number of medals. Swedish–American pole vaulter Armand Duplantis not only delivered a world record performance but also an electrifying show. And Léon Marchand became the first swimmer since 1976 to win two individual gold medals in his home event.
Ah, swimming. The famous circular bruises on numerous swimmers’ backs, legs, and arms could be seen again at this Olympics. In Rio 2016, swimming star Michael Phelbs sparked an unprecedented interest in cupping and a never-ending debate about its effectiveness or ineffectiveness in improving athletic performance and recovery. And in Paris, the cupping marks reappeared and caused a brief flare-up in the debate.
And in fact, the matter does not look quite so simple: there is certainly evidence that cupping can be useful in training, and especially in the recovery phase and rehabilitation after sports injuries. 1,2 However, the few and often methodologically questionable studies are not particularly convincing, so that further studies would be desirable.
Overall, the demand for complementary medicine in amateur and professional sports is high: in 2012, an estimated 14 million U.S. adults used complementary medicine approaches to improve their athletic performance. That is more than one in five users of complementary medicine. 3 The most commonly used methods were yoga, herbal supplements, manipulation, and massage—notably, cupping was not among the possible choices. Complementary medicine use appears to be even more widespread in professional sports: in Germany, 69% of professional athletes use complementary medicine, 4 in South Korea over 83%. 5 In the USA, 65% of intercollegiate athletes use complementary medicine. 6 Besides supplements, osteopathy, chiropractic, and acupuncture are especially popular among professional and semi-professional athletes.
However, the evidence here is also rather disillusioning. Yoga, the favorite of amateur athletes, can be used very effectively in the treatment of pain, 7 which is of course very common in sports, but data on athletes themselves are limited. Although there are indications of reduced performance anxiety and improved athletic performance through yoga, as with cupping, the evidence remains limited due to the low study quality. 8 The situation is similar for osteopathy and chiropractic. 9 And although it is somewhat better for acupuncture, 10 there is always the question of the applicability of Chinese studies in Western countries. And even with acupuncture, the evidence for an actual increase in performance is limited.
Athletics therefore remains an area of high use of complementary medicine, both in amateur and professional sport, but with insufficient evidence. And therefore, an important field of research. Due to the importance of exercise for health, increased research efforts should be worthwhile here.