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Comment on the Article “Cupping Therapy: An Overview from a Modern Medicine Perspective”: The Complications of Cupping Are Preventable
1Masiha Teb Shomal Knowledge-based cooperation, Sari, Iran, 2School of Persian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, 3Research Institute for Islamic and Complementary Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence to:This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
2021; 14(1): 1-2
Published February 28, 2021 https://doi.org/10.51507/j.jams.2021.14.1.1
Copyright © Medical Association of Pharmacopuncture Institute.
Dear Editor,
With great interest, we read the article of Aboushanab et al. [1] entitled “Cupping Therapy: An Overview from a Modern Medicine Perspective” in the journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies 11 (3), 2018. In this article, cupping is classified with a different aspect. In a part of this article, the adverse effects of cupping are mentioned and divided into two categories: preventable and non-preventable. Kubner’s phenomenon, vasovagal attack, headache, dizziness, and nausea are classified in the non-preventable group, while according to the sources of Persian medicine, these complications can be prevented.
In the Persian medicine, it is believed that digestion of food and its transformation into body tissues occurs during four digestive stages: The first digestion is in the stomach; the second digestion is in the liver, the third digestion is in the vessels, and the fourth digestion is in the tissues [2,3]. Persian medicine scholars believed that cupping in the interscapular area weakens the stomach. It is stated in
The authors of this letter also agree with Aboushanab that these adverse effects of cupping are infrequent but would be rare if the points mentioned by Persian scholars are considered. In our clinical experience, we have concluded that if the indications of cupping are correctly diagnosed and done according to the opinion of Persian medical scholars, cupping will not cause serious complications [5].
Preventable complications of cupping are also based on the performance of the practitioner, which will not occur if the correct principles and rules are observed. El Sayed et al. [6] in his article, declares that cupping itself does not cause any side effects and all its complications are preventable.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The author declares no conflict of interest.
References
- Aboushanab TS, AlSanad S. Cupping therapy: an overview from a modern medicine perspective. J Acupunct Meridian Stud 2018;11:83-7.
- Avicenna H. Al-Qanoon fi al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine). Beirut: Dare Ehia Attorath Al Arabi, 2005.
- Jorjani I. Treasure of the KhwarazmShah. Qom: Institute of Natural Resuscitation, 2011.
- Aghili Khorasani MA. The Summary of Wisdom (KholāsaAl-Hekma). Theran: Institute of History of Islamic and Complementary Medicine, 2006.
- Gholamreza K, Mohammad Reza Shams A, Mansoor K, Mohammad ME, Ismaeel N, Maryam M, et al. Cupping therapy can improve the quality of life of healthy people in Tehran. J Tradit Chin Med 2017;37:558-62.
- El Sayed SM, Al-quliti AS, Mahmoud HS, Baghdadi H, Maria RA, Nabo MMH, et al. Therapeutic benefits of Al-hijamah: in light of modern medicine and prophetic medicine. Am J Med Biol Res 2014;2:46-71.
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Article
Letter to the Editor
2021; 14(1): 1-2
Published online February 28, 2021 https://doi.org/10.51507/j.jams.2021.14.1.1
Copyright © Medical Association of Pharmacopuncture Institute.
Comment on the Article “Cupping Therapy: An Overview from a Modern Medicine Perspective”: The Complications of Cupping Are Preventable
Maryam Moghimi1 , Gholamreza Kordafshari2
, Hoorieh Mohammadi Kenari3,*
1Masiha Teb Shomal Knowledge-based cooperation, Sari, Iran, 2School of Persian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, 3Research Institute for Islamic and Complementary Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence to:Hoorieh Mohammadi Kenari
Research Institute for Islamic and Complementary Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
E-mail: mohammadikenari.h@iums.ac.ir
This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Body
Dear Editor,
With great interest, we read the article of Aboushanab et al. [1] entitled “Cupping Therapy: An Overview from a Modern Medicine Perspective” in the journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies 11 (3), 2018. In this article, cupping is classified with a different aspect. In a part of this article, the adverse effects of cupping are mentioned and divided into two categories: preventable and non-preventable. Kubner’s phenomenon, vasovagal attack, headache, dizziness, and nausea are classified in the non-preventable group, while according to the sources of Persian medicine, these complications can be prevented.
In the Persian medicine, it is believed that digestion of food and its transformation into body tissues occurs during four digestive stages: The first digestion is in the stomach; the second digestion is in the liver, the third digestion is in the vessels, and the fourth digestion is in the tissues [2,3]. Persian medicine scholars believed that cupping in the interscapular area weakens the stomach. It is stated in
The authors of this letter also agree with Aboushanab that these adverse effects of cupping are infrequent but would be rare if the points mentioned by Persian scholars are considered. In our clinical experience, we have concluded that if the indications of cupping are correctly diagnosed and done according to the opinion of Persian medical scholars, cupping will not cause serious complications [5].
Preventable complications of cupping are also based on the performance of the practitioner, which will not occur if the correct principles and rules are observed. El Sayed et al. [6] in his article, declares that cupping itself does not cause any side effects and all its complications are preventable.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The author declares no conflict of interest.
There is no Figure.
There is no Table.
References
- Aboushanab TS, AlSanad S. Cupping therapy: an overview from a modern medicine perspective. J Acupunct Meridian Stud 2018;11:83-7.
- Avicenna H. Al-Qanoon fi al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine). Beirut: Dare Ehia Attorath Al Arabi, 2005.
- Jorjani I. Treasure of the KhwarazmShah. Qom: Institute of Natural Resuscitation, 2011.
- Aghili Khorasani MA. The Summary of Wisdom (KholāsaAl-Hekma). Theran: Institute of History of Islamic and Complementary Medicine, 2006.
- Gholamreza K, Mohammad Reza Shams A, Mansoor K, Mohammad ME, Ismaeel N, Maryam M, et al. Cupping therapy can improve the quality of life of healthy people in Tehran. J Tradit Chin Med 2017;37:558-62.
- El Sayed SM, Al-quliti AS, Mahmoud HS, Baghdadi H, Maria RA, Nabo MMH, et al. Therapeutic benefits of Al-hijamah: in light of modern medicine and prophetic medicine. Am J Med Biol Res 2014;2:46-71.