Trial reportJournal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)2015
The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.
Trial report in Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 4 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 90 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of cupping therapy on chronic musculoskeletal pain and collateral problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of self-management of dry and wet cupping therapy for low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of blood pricking and cupping for treating nonspecific low back pain: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2022Pooled it
- Cupping therapy and chronic back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis.Revista latino-americana de enfermagem · 2018Pooled it
- Wet-Cupping Is Effective on Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2019Trial
- Efficacy of cupping therapy in patients with the fibromyalgia syndrome-a randomised placebo controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2016Trial
- Integrating Traditional and Complementary Medicine into Saudi Primary Care:Saudi medical journal · 2026Review
- Comparative efficacy of acupuncture, venesection, and physical therapy on chronic low back pain outcomes: a randomized clinical trial.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2024Article
- Suggested Integrative Approach for Hand Abscess with Cupping Therapy: a case study.Journal of pharmacopuncture · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of Negative Pulsed-Pressure Myofascial Vacuum Therapy and Therapeutic Exercise in Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Cupping Therapy for Diseases: An Overview of Scientific Evidence from 2009 to 2019.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2021Review
- Immediate and Delayed Effects of Cupping Therapy on Reducing Neuromuscular Fatigue.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2021Article
- Extreme venous letting and cupping resulting in life-threatening anemia and acute myocardial infarction: A case report.World journal of clinical cases · 2020Article
- Article
- Spiritual and Religious Healing Practices: Some Reflections from Saudi National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Riyadh.Journal of religion and health · 2020Review
- The Utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Saudi Older Adults: A Population-Based Study.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020Article
- Clinical outcomes of treatment with cage-shaped demineralized bone plus local bone grafts vs. autogenous iliac crest bone grafts in instrumented single-level lumbar fusion: A retrospective cohort study.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2020Article
- Standards for reporting interventions in clinical trials of cupping (STRICTOC): extending the CONSORT statement.Chinese medicine · 2020Article
- Effect of wet cupping on reducing bone pain for patients in King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Saudi Arabia. A retrospective study.Saudi medical journal · 2019Article
- The medical perspective of cupping therapy: Effects and mechanisms of action.Journal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness and safety of wet cupping therapy as a single treatment for persistent nonspecific low back pain (PNSLBP).
designRandomized controlled trial comparing wet cupping versus no treatment in PNSLBP.
settingOutpatient clinic in three secondary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia. PATIENTS: Eighty eligible participants with PNSLBP for at least 3 months were randomly allocated to an intervention group (n=40) or to a control group (n=40).
interventionsSix wet cupping sessions within 2 weeks, each of which were done at two bladder meridian (BL) acupuncture points among BL23, BL24, and BL25. Only acetaminophen was allowed as a rescue treatment in both groups. OUTCOME MEASURES: The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), McGill Present Pain Intensity (PPI), and Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ) were used as outcome measures. Numbers of acetaminophen tablets taken were compared at 4 weeks from baseline. Adverse events were recorded.
resultsAt the end of the intervention, statistically significant differences in the three outcome measures favoring the wet cupping group compared with the control group were seen: NRS score, 29.2 (95% confidence interval [CI], 24.6-33.8) versus 57.9 (95% CI, 53.3-62.6), respectively; PPI score, 1.17 (95% CI, 0.96-1.4) versus 2.3 (95% CI, 2.1- 2.7); and ODQ score, 19.6 (95% CI, 16.5-22.7) versus 35.4 (95% CI, 32.3-38.5) (p=0.0001). This improvement continued for another 2 weeks after the end of the intervention. Acetaminophen was used less in the wet cupping group, but this difference was not statistically significant. No adverse events were reported.
conclusionsWet cupping is potentially effective in reducing pain and improving disability associated with PNSLBP at least for 2 weeks after the end of the wet cupping period. Placebo-controlled trials are needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.