Table 2.
Applications of cupping therapy in various pharmacological conditions.
| Cupping therapy (拔罐療法 bá guàn liáo fǎ) | Application | References |
|---|---|---|
| Wet cupping therapy. | In treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria and acne vulgaris. (Improving the immune system) |
6 |
| Alleviate current pain in persistent, nonspecific low back pain. | 44 | |
| Nonspecific low back pain. | 4 | |
| Used in carpal tunnel syndrome but suffers from minor adverse effects like local hematoma. | 5 | |
| An effective method of reducing low density lipoprotein cholesterol in men. (Preventive effect against atherosclerosis) |
45 | |
| Effective in treatment of herpes zoster. | 46 | |
| Treatment of migraine- and stress-associated headaches and postherpetic pain. | 47 | |
| An effective role in improving pain, quality of life, and hyperalgesia in chronic nonspecific neck pain. | 48 | |
| Remedy for cellulitis (induced by honey bee sting). | 49 | |
| Adjuvant treatment for iron overload in treating thalassemia, hemochromatosis, and sideroblastic anemia. | 50 | |
| Wet cupping therapy with conventional treatments. | Treatment of oral and genital ulceration in patients with Behcet disease. | 51 |
| Dry cupping therapy. | In chronic asthmatic bronchitis therapy. (Better curative effects than that of common cupping) |
52 |
| A series of five dry cupping therapies. | Relieving chronic nonspecific neck pain. (Influence on functional pain process) |
53 |
| Dry cupping therapy with a pulsatile cupping device. | Relieved symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. | 12 |
| Dry or/and wet cupping therapy. | Chest pain alleviation. | 54 |
| Electroacupuncture (EA) with cupping therapy. | Relieve fatigue of poststroke patients. | 55 |
| Used in vertebroarterial type, nerve root type of cervical spondylopathy and sympathetic type of cervical spondylopathy. | 32 | |
| EA plus flash cupping therapy. | Synergistic action is obtained in peripheral facial paralysis. | 56 |
| EA plus bloodletting puncture and cupping therapy. | Acute gouty arthritis. | 57 |
| EA combined with bloodletting and cupping therapy. | A better therapy for herpes zoster. | 58 |
| EA combined with moving cupping therapy. | Control target symptoms and improve bad emotion of somatoform disorders. | 59 |
| Acupuncture and cupping therapy. | Relieve moderate insomnia. | 60 |
| A rapid relief of hiccup with no toxic side-effects, especially for hiccup due to cerebrovascular accident. | 61 | |
| Better therapeutic effect on ankylosing spondylitis than simple acupuncture. | 62 | |
| Better than conventional medications for reducing pain and for improving depression scores related to fibromyalgia. | 63 | |
| Acupuncture, cupping along with acupoint catgut embedding therapy. | Increase therapeutic effect on simple obesity of stomach. | 64 |
| Acupuncture, moving cupping, bloodletting puncture. | Treatment of chloasma. | 65 |
| Acupuncture-moxibustion combined with cupping therapy. | Treating primary dysmenorrhea. | 66 |
| Laser acupuncture plus soft cupping. | Effective on lower back pain. | 36 |
| Medicinal cupping therapy followed by acupuncture with cupping therapy. | Reduction in fibromyalgia symptoms. | 67,68 |
| Bloodletting cupping therapy (BLC) with herbal medicine. | Treatment of acute gouty arthritis. | 69 |
| Bloodletting puncture (BLP) with plum-blossom needle and cupping therapy. | Alleviated acute articular soft tissue injury. | 70 |
| BLP, BLC, and external application of Chinese-drug facemask. | Effective in treating acne. | 71 |
| BLP and cupping therapy. | Treat neck type of cervical spondylosis. | 72 |
| Bloodletting with cupping therapy. | Show effective treatment in asthmatic conditions. | 73 |
| Bleeding and cupping therapy. | Postherpetic neuralgia as it can significantly reduce peripheral and local serum P substance. | 74 |
| BLC. | Improve clinical condition of rheumatoid arthritis patient and show modulatory effects on natural killer cells and adaptive cellular soluble interleukin-2 receptor. | 19 |
| Red-hot needle therapy with BLP and BLC. | Therapeutic effect on neurodermatitis. | 75 |
| Clustered needling, massage, and cupping therapy. | Relieve myofascitis of the back. | 76 |
| Deep puncture by elongated needle combined with spike-hooked needle and cupping therapy. | Treatment of shoulder periarthritis. | 77 |
| Warm needling treatment combined with cupping therapy. | Used in intractable systremmaa and found more effective when needle inserted on to sciatic nerve. | 78 |
| Coiling dragon needling and moving cupping therapy. | Chronic fatigue syndrome treated. | 79 |
| Needling and cupping therapy. | Treatment of erysipelas, infection of lower limbs. | 80 |
| Pricking blood therapy with three-edged-needle plus cupping. | Good therapeutic effect on Bi-syndrome of wind-dampness type in Yemenia, with more convenience than Arabic Heigama. | 81 |
| Warm needling plus cupping therapy. | Treatment of facial paralysis. | 82 |
| Pricking, bloodletting and cupping therapy with a three-edge needle. | A definite therapeutic effect on acute eczema. | 83 |
| Fire needles at bones combined with cupping therapy and Tuina.b | Knee osteoarthritis. | 84 |
| Coiling dragon needling and cupping therapy on back. | Positive effect on chronic fatigue syndrome. | 85 |
| Plum-blossom needle tapping plus cupping therapy. | Improving periauricular pain, facial, and muscular functions for the treatment of acute facial paralysis. | 86 |
| Flash-fire cupping, movable cupping, and fixed cupping in combination. | Improve the pulmonary functions in asthmatic children, especially for those with mild asthma. | 87 |
| Fire insertion cupping therapy. | Antipyretic effect in the treatment of fever. (High fever caused by the upper respiratory tract) | 88 |
| Flash and wet cupping therapy with acupuncture. | Facial paralysis therapy. | 89 |
| A moving flash-fire cupping therapy. | In treatment of urticaria. | 90 |
| Cupping therapy with physical exercise. | Effective in reducing pain and improving neck function in musculoskeletal diseases. | 91,92 |
| Herbal cupping therapy. | Postherpetic neuralgia treatment. | 93 |
| Pneumatic pulsation therapy. | Chronic neck pain. | 94 |
| Combined pricking and cupping therapy. | As remedy to herpes zoster, postherpetic neuralgia. | 95 |
| Multiple cupping therapies. | Relieving chronic fatigue syndrome. | 96 |
| Mild moxibustion combined with cupping therapy. | Eliminating athletic fatigue. | 97 |
| Ear point bloodletting combined with cupping. | In treatment of acne vulgaris. | 98 |
| Moving cupping at the Hechelu combined with Shenque Bazhenxue moxibustion. | An effective remedy for senile habitual constipation. | 99 |
| Cupping therapy with ultrasonography. | A valuable tool in assessing knee effusions. (Especially subclinical levels) | 100 |
| Duhuojisheng Tangc alone or combined with cupping therapy. | Effectively improve pain and other clinical symptoms of patients with prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc. | 101 |
| Chinese cupping therapy. | Reduction of symptoms associated with subacute and chronic low back pain. | 102 |
| Raktamokshana (Ghati yantra avacharana) | Remove the poison after snake. | 103 |
a
Systremma is a cramp in the muscle of the leg calf.
b
Tuina is a manual technique aimed at enhancing health and treating various clinical conditions.
c
Duhuojisheng Tang (DHJST) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine used to treat osteoarthritis.