Therapeutic efficacy observation on bloodletting and cupping for cervical radiculopathy

Abstract

Objective: To observe the efficacy and safety of bloodletting and cupping for cervical radiculopathy. Methods: The randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in five centers. A total of 183 eligible subjects were randomly allocated into a bloodletting group (n=68), an acupuncture group (n=56) and a combined group (n=59). Patients in the bloodletting group were treated with bloodletting at Dazhui (GV 14) and Jianjing (GB 21) on the affected side, coupled with 5-10 min of cupping, 5 mL blood for each cup, 2-3 cups for one treatment. Patients in the acupuncture group were treated with needling cervical Jiaji (EX-B 2) points and Jianjing (GB 21) on the affected side. The needles were retained for 30 min. Patients in the combined group were treated with both methods. The treatment in all three groups were done once every three days, twice a week, 4 weeks for a course of treatment, for a total of 1-3 courses. Then the therapeutic efficacy was evaluated using scores of visual analogue scale (VAS), neck disability index (NDL) and clinical assessment scale (CAS) before treatment and after 1, 2 and 3 courses of treatment. Results: The scores of VAS, NDI and CAS in all three groups were significantly decreased after 1, 2 and 3 courses of treatment (all P＜0.001), and there were no inter-group statistical significances in comparing scores of VAS, NDI and CAS (all P＞0.05). Conclusion: Bloodletting and cupping share the similar effect with acupuncture in pain relief and improvement of quality of life in patients with cervical radiculopathy.

Cupping therapy versus acupuncture for pain-related conditions: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials and trial sequential analysis

“…After screening title and abstract, the majority of studies were not included due to obvious ineligibility, and full texts of 3079 studies were retrieved. Finally, 23 RCTs [18–40] were included in this review, 21 of which were published in Chinese and the remaining 2 [21, 40] were published in English. All of the 23 studies were conducted in China (see Fig.…”

“…In the cupping group, 20 (86.96%) studies used wet cupping, and 3 [33, 36, 40] (13.04%) studies used at least two types of cupping methods. Treatment frequency in 3 [33, 36, 37] (13.04%) studies was once daily, in 8 [19, 25, 27, 29, 31, 32, 38, 39] (34.78%) studies was once every 2 days, in 1 [21] (4%) study was twice weekly, in 6 [18, 20, 22–24, 40] (26.08%) studies was 3 times weekly and in other 2 [34, 35] studies (8.6%) was once weekly. The remaining 3 [26, 28, 30] (13.04%) studies not reported the frequency of the treatment.…”

“…In the acupuncture group, 22 (95.6%) studies used manual acupuncture, and 1 (4.3%) study used electroacupuncture. Treatment frequency in 13 [18–20, 22–24, 29, 31, 32, 34–36, 38] (56.52%) studies was once a day, in 4 [27, 28, 30, 39] (17.39%) studies was once 2 days, in 1 [21] (4.3%) study was once weekly, in another 1 [40] (4.3%) study was 3 times weekly. The remaining 4 (17.39%) studies not reported the treatment frequency.…”

“…If not effect, wet cupping on Zhengumai acupoint after 3 days and evaluate the effect on the seventh dayAcupuncture on bilateral cervical (C3–7), Jiaji (EX-B2) points, Dazhui (DU14), Fengchi (GB20), Neiguan (PC6), Hegu (LI4) with stimulation 30 min. 1×/day15Symptom improvement rateMou [21]Cervical spondylotic radiculopathy68/5646.4 ± 11.647.8 ± 11.934/3424/32Wet cupping on Dazhui (GV14) and Jianjing (GB21) acupoint 2×/weekAcupuncture on bilateral cervical (C3–7), Jiaji (EX-B2) points and Jianjing (GB 21) on the affected side, 30 min, 2×/week60VAS, NDI, CASA [22]Cervical spondylosis43/4345.3 ± 9.444.2 ± 9.223/2022/21Wet cupping on Haoyi acupoint. If not effect, wet cupping on Zhengumai acupoint after 9 daysAcupuncture on bilateral cervical (C3–7), Jiaji (EX-B2) points, Dazhui (DU14), Fengchi (GB20), Neiguan (PC6), Hegu (LI4) with stimulation, 1×/day, 25 min14Symptom improvement rateWang [23]Cervical spondylosis72/7245.9 ± 8.745.1 ± 7.979/65Wet cupping on Haoyi acupoint for 10 min.…”

“…The top 6 diseases/conditions are cervical spondylosis [18–24], knee osteoarthritis [20, 21], lateral femoral cutaneous neuritis [27, 28], lumber disk herniation [29, 30], postherpetic neuralgia [31, 32] and scapulohumeral periarthritis [34, 35]. …”