TELEVISION presenter Eamonn Holmes has revealed he has undergone extreme cupping for chronic back pain.
The Belfast-born host (62) shared a photograph of the treatment, joking it had left him looking "like a hedgehog".
The image shows the GB News presenter covered in wooden cups as part of cupping therapy. He said he had turned to the procedure, a form of alternative medicine, as he fights a long-term back issue.
Cupping is a form of treatment where suction is created on the skin with the application of heated cups in an effort to improve blood flow in problem areas.
Speaking about it on GB News, he said: "I’ve got this problem with my back and sciatic nerve and someone recommended to me to get the circulation flowing around your body, that you should become more like a hedgehog".
He also joked that he could not remove them and his physio had abandoned him.
"This is me last night…he went home he left me he left me, I couldn't get them off and slept on my front all night."
Despite being left covered in bruises, he said he thought it had helped: "It did help me sleep a bit better, I think."
Mr Holmes has previously told of his battle with chronic back pain after a dislocated pelvis led to three slipped discs
"I’ve had a hellish 10 months with these dislocated discs on my sciatic nerve," he said.
"So I’m certainly not walking a lot this year, but I think just as you get older your appetite gets less,” he said.
"I get treatment every day. I get physio every day. I do exercises every day, get a bit of massage, which sounds pleasant but never is. But chronic pain is hideous."
