Does wet-cupping therapy improve repeated sprint ability, perceived wellness, and rating of perceived exertion in young active males?

Ismail Dergaa^{1

2

3}, Amine Ghram^{4

5

6}, Mohamed Romdhani^{2

7}, Amine Souissi⁵, Achraf Ammar^{3

8

9}, Ramadan Abdelmoez Farahat¹⁰, Mohamed Saifeddin Fessi², Khadijeh Irandoust¹¹, Morteza Taheri¹¹, Tasnim Masmoudi¹², Mohamed Amine Dergaa², Nizar Souissi², Omar Hammouda^{3

7}, Katja Weiss¹³, Karim Chamari¹⁴, Helmi Ben Saad⁵, Beat Knechtle^{13

15}

Affiliations

¹ Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), Doha, P.O. Box 26555, Qatar.
² Research Unit Physical Activity, Sport, and Health, UR18JS01, National Observatory of Sport, Tunis 1003, Tunisia.
³ High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.
⁴ Department of Cardiac Rehabilitation, Heart Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
⁵ Université de Sousse, Faculté de Médecine de Sousse, Hôpital Farhat HACHED, Laboratoire de Recherche (Insuffisance Cardiaque, LR12SP09), Sousse, Tunisia.
⁶ Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL - PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁷ Interdisciplinary Laboratory in Neurosciences, Physiology and Psychology: Physical Activity, Health and Learning, UFR STAPS, UPL, Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre, France.
⁸ Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
⁹ Research Laboratory, Molecular Bases of Human Pathology, LR19ES13, Faculty of Medicine of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax 3029, Tunisia.
¹⁰ Faculty of Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, 33511, Egypt.
¹¹ Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences in Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Iran.
¹² University of Sousse, Farhat HACHED Hospital, Forensic Service, Sousse, Tunisia.
¹³ Medbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
¹⁴ Aspetar, Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, Doha, P.O. Box 29222, Qatar.
¹⁵ Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

PMID: 39309464
PMCID: PMC11411323
DOI: 10.1016/j.smhs.2023.09.007

Does wet-cupping therapy improve repeated sprint ability, perceived wellness, and rating of perceived exertion in young active males?

Ismail Dergaa et al. Sports Med Health Sci. 2023.

. 2023 Sep 22;6(4):378-384.

doi: 10.1016/j.smhs.2023.09.007. eCollection 2024 Dec.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), Doha, P.O. Box 26555, Qatar.
² Research Unit Physical Activity, Sport, and Health, UR18JS01, National Observatory of Sport, Tunis 1003, Tunisia.
³ High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.
⁴ Department of Cardiac Rehabilitation, Heart Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
⁵ Université de Sousse, Faculté de Médecine de Sousse, Hôpital Farhat HACHED, Laboratoire de Recherche (Insuffisance Cardiaque, LR12SP09), Sousse, Tunisia.
⁶ Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL - PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁷ Interdisciplinary Laboratory in Neurosciences, Physiology and Psychology: Physical Activity, Health and Learning, UFR STAPS, UPL, Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre, France.
⁸ Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
⁹ Research Laboratory, Molecular Bases of Human Pathology, LR19ES13, Faculty of Medicine of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax 3029, Tunisia.
¹⁰ Faculty of Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, 33511, Egypt.
¹¹ Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences in Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Iran.
¹² University of Sousse, Farhat HACHED Hospital, Forensic Service, Sousse, Tunisia.
¹³ Medbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
¹⁴ Aspetar, Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, Doha, P.O. Box 29222, Qatar.
¹⁵ Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

PMID: 39309464
PMCID: PMC11411323
DOI: 10.1016/j.smhs.2023.09.007

Abstract

Wet-cupping therapy (WCT) is one of the oldest known medical techniques, used as a traditional and complementary therapy with a wide application all around the world for general health. Research on the effects of WCT on sports performance are sparse and inconsistent. Thus, we aimed to explore the effects of WCT on repeated sprint ability, wellness, and exertion in young active males. Forty-nine active adult males (age: [28 ± 5] years; body height [177 ± 8] cm; body mass: [79 ± 7] kg; body mass index: [25.4 ± 1.8] kg/m²) were selected for the study. The participants performed a running-based sprint test on two separate occasions (Control and Post-WCT). WCT was performed 24 h before the testing session. They completed the Hooper questionnaire to assess their well-being ( i.e. , sleep, stress, fatigue, and soreness) before each session. The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was collected after each testing session. A higher maximum power (p < 0.05, effect size [ES] = 0.6), mean power (p < 0.01, ES = 0.5) and minimum power (p < 0.01, ES = 0.6) were recorded post-WCT as compared to Control session along with a better perceived sleep (p < 0.01, ES = 0.85). Perceived stress (p < 0.01, ES = 0.6) and RPE (p < 0.001; ES = 1.1) were lower during the post-WCT compared to the Control session. The present findings demonstrated that WCT moderately enhanced repeated sprint ability and had positive effects on perceived sleep, stress, and exertion. WCT may be an effective ergogenic aid to improve repeated sprint ability and general well-being in young adult males. Future large-scale multicentric clinical studies are paramount to confirm the results of our study.

Keywords: Alternative medicine; Complementary medicine; Hijama; Short-term maximal performance; Sports medicine.

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Figures

**Fig. 1**
Posterior torso showing points on the skin in which wet cupping therapy was applied.

**Fig. 2**
Experimental design. **Hooper**: Hooper questionnaire. **RAST**: Running-based anaerobic sprint test. **RPE**: Rating of perceived exertion.

**Fig. 3**
Comparison between Control session (Pre-cupping) and Post-WCT session (Post-cupping) on rating of perceived wellness (measured before the RAST) and exertion (measured after the RAST). **RAST**: Running based anaerobic sprint test. ∗∗: Significant difference between Control and Post cupping sessions (p < 0.01).

**Fig. 4**
Comparison between Control session (Pre-cupping) and Post-WCT session (Post-cupping) on the anaerobic sprint test performance. ∗∗∗: Significant difference between Control and Post-cupping session (p < 0.001).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Does wet-cupping therapy improve repeated sprint ability, perceived wellness, and rating of perceived exertion in young active males?

Affiliations

Does wet-cupping therapy improve repeated sprint ability, perceived wellness, and rating of perceived exertion in young active males?

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Figures

References

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