Even if you don’t like research, this is one you have to see and appreciate! The researchers took layered samples of the connective tissues in the hip, much like the above lasagna slice, and analyzed them in cadavers and living subjects who were undergoing hip surgery. They looked layer by layer at both the number of nerves in each layer and the size of the nerves. There was little difference between the cadavers and live subjects in terms of results. What this slide shows is that they found the greatest number of nerves (the black diamonds) to be in the skin! We always think joints or muscles as causing all the pain, but not so here. Second highest for number of nerves is still not the joint but the superficial fascia. No surprise that the muscle would have the largest nerves since they need them to contract. This provides scientific basis for why cupping can have such a profound impact on painful conditions. From Fascia and Soft Tissue Innervation in the Human Hip and their Possible Role in Post-surgical Pain, Fede et al, accessed at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002