ReviewJournal of traditional and complementary medicine2019
The medical perspective of cupping therapy: Effects and mechanisms of action.
Review in Journal of traditional and complementary medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06689371 (Dry Needling Versus Dry Cupping on Pain and Disability in Cervicogenic Headache Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 74 papers, 6 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.
Dry Needling Versus Dry Cupping on Pain and Disability in Cervicogenic Headache Patients
Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Fire dragon cupping therapy for primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review of available clinical evidence and research gaps.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Pooled it
- Traditional Chinese Medicine for childhood obesity: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Trends and hotspots in cupping therapy research for pain: a bibliometric study.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Acupuncture and moxibustion as adjunctive therapy for postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction in gastric cancer: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of cupping therapy on pain outcomes: an evidence-mapping study.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Comparative Effectiveness of East Asian Traditional Medicine for Childhood Simple Obesity: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Dry cupping therapy combined with conventional therapy does not provide additional benefits over conventional therapy alone in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain: a randomized trial.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2025Trial
- Effect of neurogenic acupoint cupping on high sensitive C-reactive protein and pain perception in female chronic pelvic pain: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2021Trial
- The Use of Cupping (Hijama) Therapy Among Athletes and Its Relationship With Sleep Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study in Palestine.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Time-Frequency, Complexity, and Fractal Analyses of Hemoglobin and Deoxyhemoglobin Responses to Quantify Mechanisms of Actions of Cupping Therapy.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Interdisciplinary Pediatric Long-COVID Care: A Descriptive Study of Interventions and Health-Related Quality of Life.Open forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Real-World patterns of Korean medicine and combined Korean-Western medicine use in patients with chronic cough at Korean medicine institutions: a nationwide cohort study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- Clinical study on the therapeutic effect of large-area cupping therapy for lumbar disc herniation of cold-damp type (a Traditional Chinese Medicine syndrome).Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Blood-letting cupping therapy for incision infection after laparoscopic surgery: a case report.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Duration-dependent effects of dry cupping on autonomic modulation and trapezius tissue compliance in smartphone users: a dose-finding study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- An exploratory study on the effects of dermal suctioning prior to underwater treadmill exercise on post-exercise oxidative stress in healthy dogs.The Journal of veterinary medical science · 2025Article
- Enhanced localized pressure-mediated non-viral gene delivery.Drug delivery and translational research · 2025Article
- The Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated with Self-Slump Stretching on Chronic Low Back Pain among Hill Tribe Farmers in Thailand: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Journal of pharmacopuncture · 2025Article
- Article
- What are the effects of dry cupping therapy combined with the McKenzie method on clinical outcomes in chronic low back pain? A protocol for a randomized, sham-controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cupping Therapy (CT) is an ancient method and currently used in the treatment of a broad range of medical conditions. Nonetheless the mechanism of action of (CT) is not fully understood. This review aimed to identify possible mechanisms of action of (CT) from modern medicine perspective and offer possible explanations of its effects. English literature in PubMed, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar was searched using key words. Only 223 articles identified, 149 records screened, and 74 articles excluded for irrelevancy. Only 75 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, included studies in this review were 64. Six theories have been suggested to explain the effects produced by cupping therapy. Pain reduction and changes in biomechanical properties of the skin could be explained by "Pain-Gate Theory", "Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Controls" and "Reflex zone theory". Muscle relaxation, changes in local tissue structures and increase in blood circulation might be explained by "Nitric Oxide theory". Immunological effects and hormonal adjustments might be attributed to "Activation of immune system theory". Releasing of toxins and removal of wastes and heavy metals might be explained by "Blood Detoxification Theory". These theories may overlap or work interchangeably to produce various therapeutic effects in specific ailments and diseases. Apparently, no single theory exists to explain the whole effects of cupping. Further researches are needed to support or refute the aforesaid theories, and also develop innovative conceptualizations of (CT) in future.
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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.