08 Mar Wet Cupping for Headaches & Migraines
The efficacy of wet cupping in the treatment of tension and migraine headache
by Alireza Ahmadi,* David C. Schwebel† and Mansour Rezaei*
* Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran
† University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
Published in The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 2008, Vol. 36, No. 1, 37–44
ABSTRACT
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.
The full article can be found at: Ahmadi, A. et al. (2008) The efficacy of wet cupping in the treatment of tension and migraine headache.
