BACKGROUND As a common disease in pediatrics, constipation poses a high burden to the community. In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of dry cupping therapy (an Eastern traditional manipulative therapy) in children with functional constipation. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and twenty children (4-18 years old) diagnosed as functional constipation according to ROME III crite...

Bleeding and cupping have been used in medicine since ancient times in the treatment of fevers and local inflammatory disorders. Local bleeding, by 'wet cupping', was effected by a scarificator or by leeches. John Hunter recommended venesection in moderation but preferred leechesfor local bleeding. Bleeding as an accepted therapeutic practice went out of vogue in the middle of the nineteenth ce...

BACKGROUND In this preliminary trial we investigated the effects of dry cupping, an ancient method for treating pain syndromes, on patients with chronic non-specific neck pain. Sensory mechanical thresholds and the participants' self-reported outcome measures of pain and quality of life were evaluated. METHODS Fifty patients (50.5 ± 11.9 years) were randomised to a treatment group (TG) or a w...

INTRODUCTION Cupping is used in various traditional medicine forms to relieve pain in musculoskeletal diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of cupping in relieving the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS In a two-group, randomized controlled exploratory pilot study patients with a clinically and radiological confirmed knee OA (Kellgren-Lawrence Grading...

BACKGROUND We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of two different forms of dry pulsatile cupping in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP) compared to medication on demand only in a three-armed randomized trial. METHODS 110 cLBP patients were randomized to regular pulsatile cupping with 8 treatments plus paracetamol on demand (n = 37), minimal cupping with 8 treatments plus paracetamo...

UNLABELLED Cupping therapy as a curative skill has been developed and applied throughout history. Despite reports of adverse effects, this therapy is considered to be relatively safe with no systemic reviews documenting negative side effects. The aim of this study was to explore methods that avoid the adverse effects sometimes associated with this therapy. METHODS Clinical records of 14 outpa...

Cupping therapy has been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of several chronic conditions, such as low back pain, chronic arthralgia, radiculopathy and respiratory disease. Dry and wet cupping (with controlled bleeding) are the two main types of cupping therapy. Other subtypes of the treatment are cupping with retention (keeping cups on the skin or acu...

Background: Anxious disorders are very common psychiatry problems in pregnant women.  Today, in addition to the conventional medicine, complementary medicine (acupressure and cupping therapy) is also important in the treatment of painful syndromes. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of dry cupping and acupressure application on postpartum anxiety in nulliparous women admitte...