Effect of Pressures and Durations of Cupping Therapy on Skin Blood Flow Responses

Abstract

Cupping therapy has been widely used in treating musculoskeletal impairments. However, there is no specific guideline on selecting the intensity of cupping therapy, including the pressure and duration. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different pressures and durations of cupping therapy on skin blood flow responses. A 2 × 2 factorial design, including two negative pressures at −225 and −300 mmHg and two durations at 5 and 10 min, was tested in 12 healthy participants. The four protocols of cupping therapy were tested in four different days. Skin blood flow was measured using laser Doppler flowmetry on the left triceps (the SJ12 acupoint). Skin blood flow after cupping therapy was expressed as a ratio of skin blood flow before cupping therapy. The results showed that −300 mmHg caused a significant increase in peak skin blood flow (16.7 ± 2.6 times) compared to −225 mmHg (11.1 ± 2.2 times, p < 0.05) under 5-min duration. The largest difference in skin blood flow is between −300 mmHg for 5 min (16.7 ± 2.6 times) and −225 mmHg for 10 min (8.1 ± 2.3 times, p < 0.01). Our findings demonstrated that a higher value (300 mmHg) of negative pressure is more effective on increasing skin blood flow compared to a lower value (225 mmHg). Also, a shorter duration (5 min) causes a larger peak and total skin blood flow compared to a longer duration (10 min). This study provides the first evidence showing the effect of pressures and durations of cupping therapy on skin blood flow responses.

Immediate and Delayed Effects of Cupping Therapy on Reducing Neuromuscular Fatigue

“…The sample size was determined to be 12 based on the power analysis with an assumption of a very large effect size (1.2), alpha level at 0.05, and power at 0.95 for the repeated measures study. The selection of a very large effect size was based on relevant studies ( He et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ) showing a very large effect of cupping therapy on increasing blood flow. A significant increase in blood flow after cupping therapy may effectively improve recovery from muscle fatigue.…”

“…Cupping therapy has been popular in elite athletes (e.g., Michael Phelps, Alex Naddour, and Pavel Sankovich) in recent years ( RIO, 2016 ; Chen et al, 2018 ; Chiu et al, 2020 ). Compared with commonly used interventions (e.g., stretching, cooling, and massage), cupping therapy demonstrates promise for reducing muscle fatigue without causing adverse effects on the muscle ( Lowe, 2017 ; Hou et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Jan et al, 2021 ). Cupping therapy can improve local blood flow ( Hou et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ), alleviate muscle pain ( Kim et al, 2012 ; Lauche et al, 2012 ; Al-Bedah et al, 2015 ), and reduce muscle stiffness ( Jan et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Compared with commonly used interventions (e.g., stretching, cooling, and massage), cupping therapy demonstrates promise for reducing muscle fatigue without causing adverse effects on the muscle ( Lowe, 2017 ; Hou et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Jan et al, 2021 ). Cupping therapy can improve local blood flow ( Hou et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ), alleviate muscle pain ( Kim et al, 2012 ; Lauche et al, 2012 ; Al-Bedah et al, 2015 ), and reduce muscle stiffness ( Jan et al, 2021 ). All of these therapeutic effects associated with cupping therapy may benefit recovery of exercise-induced muscle fatigue.…”

“…However, such anti-inflammatory response induced by massage may take up to 5 days to modulate the inflammatory response after exercise. Cupping therapy, like massage, is a physical intervention that promotes a healing effect by applying mechanical stress (i.e., negative pressure) to the soft tissue ( Tham et al, 2006 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Jan et al, 2021 ). The negative pressure of cupping therapy can increase the shear stress within blood vessels to generate endogenous anti-inflammatory cytokines in response to the inflammation after exercise.…”

Der Einfluss von Druck und Dauer der Schröpftherapie auf die Änderung der Hautdurchblutung

“…Die Schröpftherapie ist ein Bestandteil von vielen innerhalb der komplementären und alternativen Medizin. Traditionell wird sie in der chinesischen und persischen Medizin eingesetzt [1], wurde aber vermutlich sogar schon im alten Ägypten angewendet [2]. Eine Vielzahl von v.a.…”