Cupping Study
It is hard to find a cupping study. There are not many organizations willing to pay for clinical studies for cupping. There are, however, millennia of clinical studies in Traditional Chinese Medicine that do inform the practice. Fortunately, this is a recent randomized controlled trial cupping study. The study is from 2016 and took place in the Imam Reza Hospital in Kermanshah, Iran.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is one of the most common complications of general anesthesia. About 30% of surgical cases report unpleasant experiences after general anesthesia. PONV is one of the most common concerns reported by patients’ preoperation visits, even more so than pain, as well as a cause of patient dissatisfaction post-operation. Moreover, PONV is associated with other serious complications, such as aspiration, wound dehiscence, pneumothorax, subcutaneous emphysema, and even esophageal rupture. Therefore, anesthesiologists and surgeons consider the control of PONV an important treatment priority.
There are a number of drugs to reduce the risk of PONV; however, in addition to their costs, their adverse effects limit their usage in routine clinical practice. For example, Droperidol is black-boxed because it is a risk factor for cardiac arrhythmias. As a result, there is great need for nonpharmacologic techniques (NPTs) and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat PONV.
Acupuncture stimulation of the point P6 (acupuncture points) has been shown to significantly control nausea and vomiting in a World Health Organization (WHO) study. Moreover, stimulated P6 also has analgesic effects. The location of point P6 point is between the flexor carpi radialis and the palmaris longus muscle tendons, about 2 inches proximal to the distal crease of the wrist (Fig. (Fig.11). Stimulation of this point has been tested in several ways, including in acupuncture, acupressure, electrical stimulation, acoustic stimulation, and so on.
Considering the fewer side effects of this therapy compared to other medicinal therapies and the lack of available clinical trials on dry cupping and PONV, the present study we aimed to test the preventive effects of dry cupping through stimulation of the P6 on postoperative nausea (PON) and postoperative vomiting (POV), as well as reducing the number of cases requiring rescue therapy (that is, need to treat [NNT]). This is the first time dry cupping therapy has been employed in treatment of PONV.
Conclusion
Our findings are promising in that they suggest dry cupping treatments at the acupressure P6 can prevent the incidence of nausea, vomiting, and need for rescue therapy after laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery. Additional clinical studies of dry cupping are needed to investigate its effect in preventing and treating PONV in men, and children undergoing similar surgery. Also, considering that dry cupping is a noninvasive procedure with fewer side effects compared to other medicinal therapy, its prophylactic antiemetic therapy should be investigated for different patients, other types of surgeries and different anesthetic agent or anesthesia procedures. More randomized, controlled multicenter studies are needed. They may provide firm evidence of the effectiveness of dry cupping, and demonstrate its underlying analgesic mechanism in preventing PONV.
What Else?
The cupping study offers many additional avenues to explore. Those who have avoided acupuncture for fear of needles may find cupping an appealing and effective alternative. Hospitals may be able to use this cupping study to reduce costs and help patients spend less time recuperating after surgeries. Consumers and Western medical providers are growing more familiar with cupping. Through experience, more cupping studies, and reviewing millennia of Traditional Chinese Medicine writings both consumers and providers will benefit.
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