Gemma Collins undergoes cupping therapy as she enjoys downtime amid her busy schedule

She’s a reality star and businesswoman with many projects on the go.

So it was little wonder Gemma Collins sought some much needed downtime as she underwent a bout of cupping therapy on Wednesday, documenting the treatment on her Instagram stories.

And following her therapy, the former TOWIE star, 40, also revealed that her beloved dad Alan, 73, is ‘getting better’ after his recent battle with Covid-19. 

Sharing her cupping therapy with fans, Gemma got a pal to film her back which was covered in a plethora of glass cups which gently pulled at her flesh. 

Then, filming herself as she lay down on the bed, Gemma explained: ‘Guys I’m having cupping today. I’ve had so much going on and here goes the cupping.’ 

The TV personality filmed her back and her legs, showing them covered in the cups as underwent the treatment, which relieves stress and help with pain. 

She also shared an image of a cup places on her forehead as she wrote alongside it: ‘Cupping is amazing’.  

Cupping therapy is a form of alternative medicine, which originated in China, in which a local suction is created on the skin with the application of heated cups. 

The treatment is said to help decrease pain and inflammation, increase blood flow, reduce stress and even help things like skin issues or cellulite.

The cups used can either be bamboo, glass, silicone or earthenware, and the treatment can be wet or dry.  

Cupping usually leaves red, circular marks in the treated area, which usually heals in around 10 days, but can take up to a month to disappear. 

As well as cupping, Gemma appeared to be having crystal healing treatment, as she shared a snap of her body covered in crystals and stones.

Crystal healing is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice which uses  semiprecious stones and crystals, with the practice claiming to ‘prevent bad energy’ and ‘transform the body’s aura’ among other things. 

It comes as Gemma recently told how her Alan isn’t ‘the same man’ after suffering from ‘long coronavirus’.

In a new interview, the TV favourite admitted to being distressed by her parent’s health troubles, after he was previously diagnosed with coronavirus and spent time in hospital.

‘He’s got long COVID. He’s not the same man he was before he went into hospital’, the media personality confessed.

The reality star, whose mother also suffered from coronavirus, detailed her dad’s current condition to new! magazine, sharing: ‘He’s very tired, he gets weak, he gets out of breath and still coughs a lot. 

‘It’s really distressing, but we’re just so grateful that he’s alive and hope he will come through the long COVID soon.’ 

Scientists claim seven in 10 patients hospitalised by coronavirus still suffer debilitating ‘long Covid’ symptoms five months after being discharged.

Research laying bare the toll of the condition revealed survivors were plagued with problems including breathlessness, fatigue and muscle pain. 

University of Leicester experts, who quizzed 1,077 long-haulers, found two in five had reduced their workload or were off sick because of their persistent symptoms.

They also found evidence of organ damage in sufferers, and that those who required mechanical ventilation took longer to recover from long Covid.