Therapeutic Effectiveness of Hijama in Sciatica Pain

Hijama is an alternative mode of treatment also known as cupping therapy. It involves removal of subcutaneous stagnant blood through suction cups after making superficial incisions at particular area of the body. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of hijama in sciatica pain at Aligarh Shifa hospital. 92 patients with the history of sciatica were selected randomly between 18 - 75 years of age and hijama cups were applied generally at C7, T2 and L5/S1 vertebrae, while two cups were also applied bilaterally on L4/L5 vertebrae, four cups were additionally applied on hip joint, back of thigh, knee and calf muscle, all cups were applied thrice at an interval of 15 days between each session. The decrease in sciatic pain was assessed after three sessions of Hijama by numeric pain rating scale there was overall significant reduction in pain with 67 percent patients showing relief in pain up to varying degree. Present study suggests that hijama has been found to be effective in relieving pain and improving quality of life in majority of the patient’s, hence may be used as effective alternative tool to alleviate pain.

Abul-Qasim Al-Zahrawy’s practice of cupping therapy(Hijama)during the tenth century:a documentation

Abul-Qasim Al-Zahrawy’s(Albucasis)(936-1013 AD)was one of the greatest Andalusian scientists and surgeons.Al-Zahrawy illustrated his pioneering medical and surgical information on his book(“At-Tasrif liman‘Azija‘an at-Ta’lif)or(The method of medicine).He illustrated the cupping therapy practice in the treatise 30 of this book.The aim of this article is to give an anthropological and historical medical information about Al-Zahrawy’s practice of cupping therapy(Hijama in Arabic).This article is a method of documentations of cupping therapy practice during the 10th century.Safety concerns including innovation cup safety design were the most noticed subjects in practicing cupping therapy by Al-Zahrawy.This attitude should be continued.

Subconjunctival hemorrhage after wet cupping therapy: a case report

Introduction:Cupping therapy is an integrative and complementary medicine therapy that practiced worldwide by several civilizations for thousands of years.Cupping therapy is reported to be a relatively safe practice especially if performed by qualified therapists.Subconjunctival hemorrhage(SCH)is a common cause of eye redness and can be classified into traumatic and spontaneous.Case presentation:This case report discussed an adverse event related to wet cupping therapy.The patient developed SCH one day after performing cupping therapy.He was completely recovered after 2 weeks.This case report should increase the knowledge of cupping therapists regarding increasing safety of patient when performing wet cupping therapy on specific body parts especially,head,neck and cervical areas.Furthermore,it highlighted the importance of conducting research regarding the mechanical and physiological effects of cupping therapy.Conclusion:Adverse events related to cupping therapy should be reported with every patient.Cupping therapists should be aware of this possible mild adverse event.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first published adult case of SCH related to wet cupping therapy session.More studies are critically needed for evaluation of cupping therapy effects and adverse events especially when performed on head and neck.

A brief illustration of the official national standards for the safe useof cupping therapy (Hijama) in Saudi Arabia

Cupping therapy （Hijama in Arabic） is a popular traditional treatment especially in Asia, the Middle East and Central Europe. Traditionally, cupping therapy has been one of the most used practices in Saudi Arabia. Standardization of the practice of cupping therapy is a very important step to eliminate or reduce any adverse events related to cupping. This article gives a brief illustration and highlights the important points of the first accredited Saudi Arabian standards for the safe use of cupping equipment and its applications.

Cupping therapy can improve the quality of life of healthy people in Tehran

OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of cupping on the quality of life of healthy people who referred to traditional Persian medicine clinics in Tehran.METHODS: All participants were examined by Traditional Persian Medicine specialists and their temperaments were determined. The area between the shoulders was cleaned, and cupping was performed with a disposable cupping glass for a few minutes. The questionnaire used in this project was the Persian version of the SF-36 questionnaire which assesses people's understanding of their health status. Before cupping and then one monthafter cupping, all participants were called and the questionnaires were completed again. Finally, all given data was analyzed.RESULTS: From a total of 290 questionnaires completed in the first phase of the project, 112 patients were excluded. Ultimately, the data of 178 participants was analyzed. After one month, the quality of life score of 155 participants(88%) increased, remained unchanged for 21 participants(11.7%), and decreased for 2 participants(1.1%). Asked about possible complications from cupping, 160 participants reported no side effects(89.9%).CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that cupping therapy can improve the scores of quality of life in the participants in Tehran.