A short while ago, a company by the name of Theracup reached out to me and asked if I’d like to review their eponymous product, Theracup. Not having heard of this company or the device before, I quickly looked into what exactly their product was and what it aimed to achieve. Needless to say, I was intrigued.
And, if you want to know all of the specifics of this device, along with my thoughts as to whether or not this could be a suitable product for you to own, then this article is for you. Here’s the quick takeaway:
The Theracup is a handy device for those looking to provide muscle stimulation to certain areas of their body. The cupping aspect isn’t quite as effective as traditional cupping measures, but it’s still a nice added bonus of the stim device itself, as the cups still have decent suction.
At the end of the day, would I recommend this device to those considering purchasing it? Read on to find out!
ARTICLE OVERVIEW (Quick Links)
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• Packaging & carrying case
• Overall build quality
• STIM specifics
– Stim modes
– Stim intensity
– Stim pads
• Cup specifics
– Cup quality
– Suction power
• What I enjoy about the Theracup
• Suggested improvements to the Theracup
• The final verdict: is it worth it?
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Disclosure statement: Theracup sent me their product at no charge after they reached out to me, inquiring if I’d be interested in reviewing their product. I have not been compensated through any monetary means, and all opinions in this article are my own. I am here to serve those who are in pain and who have a genuine interest in living stronger, healthier lives. What follows are my honest views and thoughts on the Theracup.
Packaging & carrying case
The quick takeaway: The packaging is professional, and the included hardshell case makes you feel like you’ve ordered a quality product.
The Theracup that was sent to me came in a nicely wrapped box with an outer sleeve, which all looked to be professionally designed and up to the standards of what I would expect for a product at this price point.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Theracup comes with a hard shell carrying case, which is undoubtedly essential for a portable device of this kind. The carrying case feels exceptionally robust and well-built.
Within the case are some nice pockets that will house the included electrode pads for the Theracup along with the included USB-C recharging cable for when it comes time to recharge the Theracup.
There are no issues with this carrying case, and I feel that it’s invaluable to have for a portable product such as this.
Overall build quality
The quick takeaway: The overall build quality of the Theracup itself seems quite reasonable. I’ve been putting it to use on various areas of my body for the past few weeks and haven’t had any major concerns or letdowns with the device; it’s worked as expected and without any issues.
While I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a “concern,” I do have my eyes on the coiled wire that connects the two stim heads of the device. With it being such a small/thin wire and the stim heads being able to be stretched away from one another and moved around so much, I wonder if this may become an issue down the road with the internal connection or wire itself failing at some point in the future if not used with caution.
To be clear, this is the case with ANY such device, so I don’t consider it a fault of Theracup, just something that I’ll be keeping my eyes on as I continue to use it more and more in the future.
Everything else about this device in terms of its build quality seems quite acceptable. The cups will undoubtedly last for a very long time, and I expect the stim heads will do the same as well.
STIM specifics
The quick takeaway: The variable stimulation intensity, modes and ability to deliver current through cups or electrode pads are the strong points of this device are what I would base my desire to purchase this device on if I were to buy it. I’m rather happy with how it performs for muscle stimulation and consider it to be the major selling point of the device.
One of the defining features of the Theracup is its EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulation, or sometimes referred to as NMES – Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation) capabilities. I’ll break down the different aspects of this feature into different categories, but I’ll give you a quick takeaway first.
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Stim modes
The Theracup can perform three different stimulation modes based on your personal preference. Each mode has different parameters and a pretty unique feel to it.
Mode 1: Vibrating massage
This and mode 2 are tied for my favourite modes. Mode 1, in particular, offers a nice fluctuation in its intensity, seemingly taking the muscle through different intensities of contraction while it’s in use.
Mode 2: Vibrating + pounding massage
Again, this mode, along with mode 1, is my favourite. Mode 2, in particular, does exactly what it sounds like; it pounds the tissue with shot, but intense bursts of electrical activity, causing the muscle to shake or twitch in a repeated fashion.
Mode 3: Vibrating + prickling massage.
I don’t prefer this mode as much, but keep in mind that this is nothing more than personal preference. For me, this mode just felt more uncomfortable than anything else, but no worries, I got two other modes that I quite enjoy!
Stim intensity
The quick takeaway: Overall, the fifteen levels of muscle stimulation should be more than adequate for your needs, so long as you understand how electrode placement can affect muscle stimulation. I’d recommend using the electrode pads for the lower body and the cups for the upper body.
The Theracup provides up to fifteen power levels for varying the current intensity when delivering muscle stimulation. Whether or not you feel the maximal output will be enough for you will depend on a few different factors:
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Location of use: Muscles have what are known as motor points. In short, the closer you place the cup or electrode to the motor point, the less current intensity it will take to make the muscle responsive to electrical stimulation. The further away you place it from the motor point, the more current it will take to stimulate the muscle.
Other factors (with ANY muscle stimulation device): Additional factors that can also extensively influence how much stimulation you feel or how much your muscles contract include surface impedance on the skin (due to dirty skin, etc.) and the amount of subcutaneous adipose tissue (fat tissue beneath the skin) in between the stimulation electrode and the muscle itself.
If you do it right, the stim output on the Theracup will be more than adequate for your needs. My recommendation is to use the cups on the upper body and the pads on the lower body, as I found the lower body (my thighs, in particular) just didn’t receive enough electrical current to stimulate the muscles when using the cups.
Stim pads
The Theracup comes with two different sets of electrodes, which can be used in place of the cups. Included with the purchase of the Theracup, you’ll find a pair of smaller, circular pads, as well as a pair of larger, rectangular pads. Generally speaking, the smaller, circular pads will likely be more ideal for the upper body, while the larger pads will be more ideal for areas with larger musculature, such as the legs.
These included stim pads work great, and I have no complaints about their quality.
It’s important to know that if wanting to use the Theracup on your lower extremities (anywhere on your legs), you’ll likely want to use the pads instead of the cups since electrode pads (when appropriately applied) will carry way more current into the body than the cups will, due to vastly increased surface area contact with the skin.
Pro tip: To get the most effectiveness out of the pads as possible, be sure to make sure your skin is clean, dry and free of excessive amounts of oil and hair. Minimizing these skin factors will increase surface contact and lower electrical impedance through the skin’s surface and into the muscles beneath, providing stronger electrical stimulation to the muscle(s).
Cup specifics
The quick takeaway: In my experience, the cups work decently well for the upper body and not so well for the lower body. But what’s awesome about using them for the upper body is that they can save you from using the electrode pads, which have a limited usage before losing their stickiness (the case with ANY electrode pads). The cups have enough suction power to perhaps give a bit of therapeutic benefit for the upper extremities. Still, I don’t believe they deliver much, if any, benefit to the lower extremities in terms of tissue decompression.
Cup quality
I’ve got no issues with the quality of the cup themselves. They appear to be well built and will likely last a long time. They are easy to clean, which is also an important factor. The sharp, inner edges of the cups can feel a bit uncomfortable on the skin (it kind of feels like they pinch the skin a bit when they hold their suction) if you have sensitive skin.
However, I don’t know if there is any way to modify this, as the cups have been designed to carry an electric current through them and into the skin. I don’t consider it to be a flaw, but just something to be mindful of when using them, especially if you have sensitive skin. If this happens to be your situation, you may just want to use the pads instead.
Suction power
This is where things can get a bit iffy with the Theracup’s overall abilities, depending on what you’re hoping to get out of the Theracup itself.
You don’t want suction cups that are overtly powerful if you plan on leaving them on your skin for upwards of ten minutes (before the auto shut-off feature kicks in). Suction cups with high levels of suction left on a single area of your skin for that long would likely cause bruising/discolouration that could last for well over a week.
The Theracup cups aren’t that strong in terms of their overall suction, but they’re strong enough to hold onto the skin quite well and deliver the electrical current into the muscle(s). I don’t believe you’ll get much of a therapeutic (decompressive) effect from the cups themselves, so this is where I say that things can get “iffy.”
If you want the Theracup to provide lots of therapeutic effects through tissue decompression (i.e., the cupping aspect), then you’ll likely be disappointed. But if you simply view the cupping aspect as a “fun little bonus” and are more interested in the electrical muscle stimulation aspect, then you’ll likely be more than satisfied with the cups (as is the case with me).
What I enjoy about the Theracup
There’s certainly a lot to enjoy about this little device. I always expect the quality of any product that I purchase to match its price point. The Theracup delivers in this regard and shines with its relatively straightforward approach.
There’s no wasted time getting lost in dialling in a bunch of specific parameters (duty time, ramp time, pulse width, etc.), which can certainly happen on more advanced muscle stimulation devices.
The Theracup is a simple but welcomed “plug and play” stim device that should work well for those who don’t have (or need) the knowledge regarding the specifics of setting up all the individual parameters of a more advanced muscle stimulating device.
I also really appreciate the fact that the cups work quite well on the upper body, as this saves me (or the user in general) from constantly having to rely on the electrode pads. The more you use electrode pads, the more often you’ll have to replace them; they eventually lose their stickiness and thus become less effective.
The cups will save you from constantly having to rely on pads, meaning you won’t go through pads nearly as quickly. Also, if you don’t place the cup in the right spot, you can quickly place it on a slightly different area within a second or two. If you were to do this with an electrode pad, you’d have to peel it off and re-stick it, which could be a little more annoying and/or time-consuming to do.
Suggested improvements to the Theracup
As with any product, there’s always room for improvement. For the Theracup, here’s what I would like to see on “version 2.0”, should there ever be one that comes about:
Improved instruction manual
The instruction manual that comes with the manual certainly leaves a bit to be desired. I found myself unclear for the first handful of minutes as to how to change parameters in terms of knowing whether or not the device was running or not.
The manual didn’t seem to mention the differences between when the Theracup was blinking green vs. solid green in terms of its LED lights. As a result, I had to fiddle around a bit until I realized that blinking meant that the stim current was active (which you can’t initially tell since it will be on level 1, a current so faint that you won’t likely feel it).
As I found out, solid green means that you’ve either just turned the unit on or selected a new mode (in either case, there is no current being delivered).
So, I got the hang of it after being confused for a couple of minutes. However, a bit more clarity in the instruction manual would be a welcomed addition.
Some sort of visual reference for which mode is operating
As mentioned earlier, the Theracup is a stim device that strikes me as being designed to be relatively straightforward while keeping hassle to a minimum. And while I can appreciate this, it can also, perhaps, be a bit limiting.
I know that it’s pretty easy to figure out what mode it’s on based on the stimulation pattern you feel. Still, it would be a nice touch to have a visual led light system letting you know which mode you’re on.
Perhaps having the main green LED light change colours based on the mode that the device is on (ex., green for mode 1, yellow for mode 2, blue for mode three). Not necessary, mind you, but certainly welcomed if Theracup were up to the challenge of a “Theracup 2.0”.
A visual reference for current stim level
It would be nice to see if a future version could be designed to let the user know which mode the device was operating on and the specific intensity level it is set to. This is the one improvement I would opt for if I could only pick one.
Even something simple as an individual LED light that changes colour based on the intensity level that the device is currently operating at would suffice. Ex: Levels 1-5 blue, levels 6-10 purple, levels 11-15 pink, etc.
Admittedly, it’s not necessary, and I understand that adding these features would likely increase the cost of the device. However, not having to count how many times I hit the button to increase or decrease the stim intensity to know what level it’s on would certainly be the most welcomed feature for me.
The final verdict: is it worth it?
Overall, I feel that the Theracup is quite a reasonable little stim device if you’re looking for one that is relatively straightforward to use without getting overwhelmed by a seemingly endless amount of individual parameters, which can often be the case with more expensive stim units.
And while there are plenty of other stim devices on the market, the Theracup strikes the sweet spot of being a quality product that delivers more than enough electric stim potential without breaking the bank. Also, the fact that it’s super portable, USB-C rechargeable and comes in a nice hardshell case really increases its overall appeal.
So, if you’re in the market for a hassle-free stim device that won’t overwhelm you with options and won’t break the bank, this could be a great little device to pick up. If I were in the market for a simple yet powerful stim device, the Theracup is something that I would quite likely consider picking up.
Hi! I’m Jim Wittstrom, PT, DPT, CSCS, Pn1.
I am a physical therapist who is passionate about all things pertaining to strength & conditioning, human movement, injury prevention and rehabilitation. I created StrengthResurgence.com in order to help others become stronger and healthier. I also love helping aspiring students and therapists fulfill their dreams of becoming successful in school and within their clinical PT practice. Thanks for checking out my site!