Cupping

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Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Some complementary approaches, such as massage and herbal ointments, show promise in reducing postpartum pain.

2022 Integrative Medicine Research The effectiveness and safety of complementary health approaches to managing postpartum pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Smith CA, Hill E, Denejkina A, Thornton C, Dahlen HG

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Cupping therapy has beneficial therapeutic effects and could be effective for the treatment of migraine.

2021 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Cupping Therapy for Migraine: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Jihye Seo, Hongmin Chu, Cheol-Hyun Kim, Kang-Keyng Sung, Sangkwan Lee

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Treatments according to traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation can provide patients with individualized treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome.

2020 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Advances in Clinical Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Zhang X, Wang M, Zhou S

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Moving cupping therapy, alone or coupled with other treatments, could effectively alleviate symptoms of plaque psoriasis with minimal side effects.

2020 Medicine Moving cupping therapy for plaque psoriasis
Xing M, Ding X, Zhang J, Kuai L, Ru Y, Sun X, Ma T, Miao X, Liu L, Wang Y, Li B, Li X

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Cupping therapy, as an adjunct to current treatments, may potentially enhance efficacy when treating patients with chronic urticaria.

2020 Journal of Integrative Medicine Cupping therapy for patients with chronic urticaria: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Xiao, X., Zhang, L., Shi, Y., Yao, J., Cao, W., Liu, Y., Zou, Z., Zhou, S., Chen, M., Li, C., Zheng, Q., & Li, Y.

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

The results of manual, traditional and non-invasive therapies are similar to those of surgical treatments, and even better in a very large number of cases.

2019 Timisoara Physical Education and Rehabilitation Journal Systematic review of treatment methods for the carpal tunnel syndrome
Glazer C, Pantea C

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Cupping therapy has demonstrated notable effects in reducing chronic back pain in adults.

2018 Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem Cupping therapy and chronic back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis
Moura, C. C., Chaves, É., Cardoso, A., Nogueira, D. A., Corrêa, H. P., & Chianca, T.

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Cupping therapy and acupuncture are potentially safe, and they have similar effectiveness in relieving pain.

2017 Chinese Medicine Cupping therapy versus acupuncture for pain-related conditions: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials and trial sequential analysis
Zhang, YJ., Cao, HJ., Li, XL. et al.

Executive Summary

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Research into Chinese medicine treatment for Cupping" summarising the research below and using language that can be easily understood by patients and avoiding medical jargon using a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Researched Chinese medicine treatments for Cupping" summarising the research below in an objective and easy to understand way, and using language that can be easily understood by patients. Group the article into Chinese medicine treatments first, followed by nutrition and other treatments. Avoid using medical jargon and use a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write me a concise but easy to understand executive summary on the topic of "Chinese medicine treatments for Cupping" based on the following research that I will give you. Your summary should be 2 paragraphs long in Australian English spelling and include references to the studies.

A Systematic Review published in 2022 in the journal Integrative Medicine Research found that Some complementary approaches, such as massage and herbal ointments, show promise in reducing postpartum pain. This passage discusses a systematic review aimed at examining the effectiveness and safety of non-pharmacological methods for managing postpartum pain in women. The review included 30 trials involving both first-time and experienced mothers who experienced pain in the two weeks following childbirth. The primary focus was on pain reduction. The review found that massage showed a reduction in pain for women who had undergone caesarean births within the first 24 hours postpartum and at seven days postpartum. Additionally, herbal ointments were found to reduce perineal pain for women who had received an episiotomy within the first 24 hours and at 14 days postpartum. However, the number of trials reporting on safety was limited, and the overall quality of evidence was deemed very low. The conclusion emphasizes the need for further high-quality trials to assess the safety and effectiveness of herbal ointment and massage during the early postpartum period.

A Systematic Review published in 2021 in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that Cupping therapy has beneficial therapeutic effects and could be effective for the treatment of migraine. We analyzed 6 RCTs with 510 migraine participants in this review and the results show that wet cupping and dry cupping could improve the migraine symptoms. No significant adverse events were identified in the studies included in this review. This review is the first comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis about cupping therapy for migraine. In addition, the levels of evidence were presented through assessment of the quality of the evidence. The quality of the level of evidence was low in the wet cupping versus drugs group and dry cupping plus acupuncture versus acupuncture group. Regardless of the potential bias and limitations, all the included studies concluded that cupping therapy had beneficial therapeutic effects in treating migraine. Cupping therapy has potential therapeutic effects on treating migraine. Further larger and rigorously designed RCTs are needed to confirm the cupping therapy’s therapeutic effect. Additional economic studies might be considered for future studies to compare the cost-effectiveness of cupping therapy plus acupuncture or cupping therapy plus drugs.

A published in 2020 in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that Treatments according to traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation can provide patients with individualized treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome. Currently, there are many methods for treating CFS with TCM, showing its advantages. On one hand, treatments according to syndrome differentiation are diverse and involve herbal decoctions and proprietary Chinese medicines. External treatments include moxibustion, acupuncture, tuina, cupping, and other treatments. Combination therapies include two or more external treatments combined and internal and external treatments combined, which are often better than monotherapies and can remedy deficiencies. However, the clinical manifestations of CFS are different. Although fatigue is the main manifestation, there are individual differences in the appearance of insomnia or muscle pain in some patients. Treatments according to syndrome differentiation can provide patients with individualized treatments. On the other hand, TCM often has the advantages of simplicity, effectiveness, convenience, and a lower cost.

A Systematic Review published in 2020 in the journal Medicine found that Moving cupping therapy, alone or coupled with other treatments, could effectively alleviate symptoms of plaque psoriasis with minimal side effects. The researchers conducted an exhaustive review of various databases up until March 2020, including PubMed, Embase, and others. The review focused on randomized controlled trials concerning the treatment of plaque psoriasis using moving cupping therapy, either alone or combined with Chinese herbs or conventional Western medicine. The effects obtained from these trials were contrasted with outcomes from placebo-controlled, pharmaceutical medication-based or Chinese herb-based treatments. They also compared the frequency of the moving cupping treatment. After a meticulous selection process, sixteen trials involving 1164 participants met the entry criteria. The meta-analysis demonstrated that those who underwent moving cupping therapy exhibited significant symptom improvement compared to those who did not. Additionally, the combination of moving cupping and pharmaceutical medications proved to be more effective than pharmaceutical treatments alone. The recurring rate of psoriasis also substantially dropped due to cupping therapy. While moving cupping reduced some blood markers more effectively than conventional medicine did, it didn't show distinct advantages in the visual analogue score. Few transient side effects like redness, itching, and local skin burning were reported associated with moving cupping therapy.

A Systematic Review published in 2020 in the journal Journal of Integrative Medicine found that Cupping therapy, as an adjunct to current treatments, may potentially enhance efficacy when treating patients with chronic urticaria. The research adopted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials, with the focus on efficacy and safety of cupping therapy for chronic urticaria. The researchers employed a search strategy aimed at identifying related keywords like "chronic urticaria" and "cupping therapy" in the title and abstracts, sourced from nine major electronic databases up till May 2019. Only trials that included patients with chronic urticaria who received dry or wet cupping were considered. The quality of the methodological design and potential bias of the studies were evaluated. The findings suggest the efficacy of cupping therapy when used, not as a standalone treatment, but as an adjunct to other treatments, particularly to antihistamines and acupuncture. In a sample of trials, there were no significant differences between using wet cupping and conventional medications in terms of their total effective rate. However, cupping therapy combined with antihistamines or acupuncture was found to be more effective than when these treatments were used separately. No serious adverse events were reported as part of these findings.

A Systematic Review published in 2019 in the journal Timisoara Physical Education and Rehabilitation Journal found that The results of manual, traditional and non-invasive therapies are similar to those of surgical treatments, and even better in a very large number of cases. In the current context of medicine and therapy, statistics indicate a tendency to approach the carpal tunnel syndrome by surgical treatment, to the detriment of approaching the pathology through a non-invasive technique. The relevant specialized articles selected for this study, and published in the past 10 years, prove that alternative medicine, physical therapy, electrotherapy, and the natural evolution of untreated patients or of patients exposed to the placebo effect, may significantly improve the symptoms of the carpal tunnel syndrome.

A Systematic Review published in 2018 in the journal Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem found that Cupping therapy has demonstrated notable effects in reducing chronic back pain in adults. The systematic review and meta-analysis involved two independent researchers who examined national and international databases. They also explored the reference lists of additional systematic reviews. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Jadad scale, a globally recognized tool assessing the methodological quality of clinical trials. Extracting 16 studies for qualitative review and 10 for quantitative analysis, the research found positive impacts of cupping therapy on chronic back pain in adults. It was noted that there isn't a standardized protocol for treatment with this therapy. The study mainly evaluated outcomes based on factors such as pain intensity, physical incapacity, the quality of life, and the nociceptive threshold before the application of mechanical stimulus. A noteworthy reduction in pain intensity was seen through the use of cupping therapy.

A Systematic Review published in 2017 in the journal Chinese Medicine found that Cupping therapy and acupuncture are potentially safe, and they have similar effectiveness in relieving pain. Regardless the potential bias and limitations of this review, all of the included studies showed that cupping therapy had similar therapeutic effects with acupuncture in treating pain-related conditions (such as cervical pain, back pain, osteoarthritis, and acute soft tissue injury). For pain-related conditions, cupping therapy and acupuncture have different choice of acupoints. Based on our review, acupuncture often use two basic acupoints which are tenderness point (Ashi) and the meridians passing through the pain area; while for cupping therapy, wet cupping uses special acupoints (such as Haoyi for cervical spondylopathy) for local pain, and flash cupping combined with moving cupping often use the meridians passing through the pain area for widespread pain. Considering the similar therapeutic effects of these two therapies, clinical practitioners may consider to choose any of them, based on their own clinical experience and the preference of patients.

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