Anecdotally, my lumbar discs (L-1/2 and L-4/5) caused trouble for years. In fact, anyone who's lumbar (or cervical) discs herniate, tear or degenerate knows what sort of discomfort the squeezed nerve roots create. (Fast forward several years, avoiding spinal fusion recommendations.) So, I visted China and pursued acupuncture (3 rounds,) which resolved my pain issues. During the following year I began to test my ability to exercise, wanting to gradually rebuild strength, and over time eventually needed accupuncture again (L-4/5 in glut and leg reemerged.) The acupuncture resolved the issue again. Today, I actively pursue daily strength training, pain free.
My personal experiencce with cupping involved a torn quad, which didn't fully resolve over 100 days of "R&R" and that persisted with a knotty area at top and sensitivity, beyond 100 days. Cupping (3 times) of the area directly and proxiamlly of the painful area completely resolved the issue. My opinion holds that the "pulling of new blood" into the area enabled the muscle tissue to fully heal. My question to myself asks "why wouln't it?" The process simply sucks old blood out of lower connectivve tissue into areas distal to the injured tissue with perhaps greater vascularity. "Out with the old and in with the new (healthy oxygenated RBCs)."
In my experience, I plan to follow those two processes anytime in the future.