HIJAMA POINTS Treatment Plans & Consultations
November 5, 2023
Hijaamah (Wet Cupping) In the Treatment of Tension and Migraine HeadachesAhmadi A, Schwebel DC, Rezaei M. The efficacy of wet-cupping in the treatment of tension and migraine headache. Am J Chin Med. 2008;36(1):37-44.
Wet-cupping is an ancient medical technique still used in several contemporary societies, but little empirical study has been devoted to test its efficacy to treat tension and migraine headache.
Using a pre-post research design, 70 patients with chronic tension or migraine headache were treated with wet-cupping.
Three primary outcome measures were considered at the baseline and 3 months following treatment: headache severity, days of headache per month, and use of medication.
Results suggest that, compared to the baseline, mean headache severity decreased by 66% following wet-cupping treatment.
Treated patients also experienced the equivalent of 12.6 fewer days of headache per month. We conclude that wet-cupping leads to clinical relevant benefits for primary care patients with headache.
Possible mechanisms of wet-cupping's efficacy, as well as directions for future research are discussed.
Effects of drug cupping therapy on immune function in chronic asthmatic bronchitis patients during protracted period.
[My paper] Cai-qing Zhang, Tie-jun Liang, Wei Zhang Shandong Provincial Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan. To observe the clinical effect of drug cupping therapy (DCT, cupping therapy with pingchuan ointment made by the authors themselves in the cups) on chronic asthmatic bronchitis (CAB) during the protracted period, and explore its effect on immune function.
METHODS: Seventy-seven patients were randomly divided into two groups:the treated group (n=40) treated by orally taken Liuwei Dihuang Pill (LDP) and DCT and the control group (n=37) with LDP and common cupping therapy without drug in cups. The changes of T-lymphocyte subset, levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin (IL), immunoglobulin (Ig), complement 3 and 4 (C3 and C4) were detected before and after treatment.
RESULTS: The total effective rate was higher in the treated group than that in the control group (90. % vs. 59.5%, P < .01). The levels of CD4+, CD4+/CD8+, IL-2, IFN-gamma, C3, C4, IgA, IgG and IgM increased, while the levels of IgE, IL-4, IL-10 and CD8+ decreased after treatment in both groups (P < .05 or P < .01), the improvements were better in the treated group than that in the control group (P < .05).