Trial reportBMC complementary and alternative medicine2011
The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain--a randomised controlled pilot study.
Trial report in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01289964 (Randomised Controlled Pilot Study), which is not on this map. Cited by 33 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Randomised Controlled Pilot Study: the Effect of Dry Cupping on Pain and Sensory Thresholds in the Treatment of Chronic Non Specific Neck Pain
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of cupping therapy on chronic musculoskeletal pain and collateral problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Update evidence of effectiveness on pain relieving of cupping therapy: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2025Pooled it
- Visual analysis of research hotspots and trends of external therapies in traditional Chinese medicine for chronic pain.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Trends and hotspots in cupping therapy research for pain: a bibliometric study.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Massage for neck pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Cupping therapy and chronic back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis.Revista latino-americana de enfermagem · 2018Pooled it
- Is cupping therapy effective in patients with neck pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2018Pooled it
- Traditional Chinese medicine for neck pain and low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Efficacy of cupping therapy in patients with the fibromyalgia syndrome-a randomised placebo controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Pulsatile dry cupping in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee - a randomized controlled exploratory trial.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2012Trial
- Duration-dependent effects of dry cupping on autonomic modulation and trapezius tissue compliance in smartphone users: a dose-finding study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- [Scientific shortcomings in the CME article on complementary medicine in pain therapy].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2023Article
- [CAM procedures in pain therapy: an evidence-based discourse is needed].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2023Article
- Effect of myofascial cupping vs integrated neuromuscular inhibition techniques on pain and neck movement in individuals with latent trigger point in trapezius.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liao · 2023Article
- Effects of Acupuncture, Moxibustion, Cupping, and Massage on Sports Injuries: A Narrative Review.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Review
- Efficacy of Dry Needling and Acupuncture in the Treatment of Neck Pain.Anesthesiology and pain medicine · 2021Review
- ACUTE OUTCOMES OF MYOFASCIAL DECOMPRESSION (CUPPING THERAPY) COMPARED TO SELF-MYOFASCIAL RELEASE ON HAMSTRING PATHOLOGY AFTER A SINGLE TREATMENT.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2020Article
- Dry Cupping Therapy for Improving Nonspecific Neck Pain and Subcutaneous Hemodynamics.Journal of athletic training · 2020Article
- The Evidence for Common Nonsurgical Modalities in Sports Medicine, Part 2: Cupping and Blood Flow Restriction.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn 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.
methodsFifty patients (50.5 ± 11.9 years) were randomised to a treatment group (TG) or a waiting-list control group (WL). Patients in the TG received a series of 5 cupping treatments over a period of 2 weeks; the control group did not. Self-reported outcome measures before and after the cupping series included the following: Pain at rest (PR) and maximal pain related to movement (PM) on a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS), pain diary (PD) data on a 0-10 numeric rating scale (NRS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and health-related quality of life (SF-36). In addition, the mechanical-detection thresholds (MDT), vibration-detection thresholds (VDT), and pressure-pain thresholds (PPT) were determined at pain-related and control areas.
resultsPatients of the TG had significantly less pain after cupping therapy than patients of the WL group (PR: Δ-22.5 mm, p = 0.00002; PM: Δ-17.8 mm, p = 0.01). Pain diaries (PD) revealed that neck pain decreased gradually in the TG patients and that pain reported by the two groups differed significantly after the fifth cupping session (Δ-1.1, p = 0.001). There were also significant differences in the SF-36 subscales for bodily pain (Δ13.8, p = 0.006) and vitality (Δ10.2, p = 0.006). Group differences in PPT were significant at pain-related and control areas (all p < 0.05), but were not significant for MDT or VDT.
conclusionsA series of five dry cupping treatments appeared to be effective in relieving chronic non-specific neck pain. Not only subjective measures improved, but also mechanical pain sensitivity differed significantly between the two groups, suggesting that cupping has an influence on functional pain processing.
trial registrationThe trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01289964).
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.