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Review
. 2024 Sep 30;27(3):177-189.
doi: 10.3831/KPI.2024.27.3.177.

Cupping Therapy for the Treatment of Migraine Headache: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Bushra Mohandes  1 , Fatma Elsayed Ahmed Bayoumi  1 , Aisha Abdulkarim AllahDiwaya  1 , Maryam Salah Falah  1 , Leen Hesham Alhamd  1 , Razan Abid Alsawadi  2 , Yipeng Sun  1 , Aidi Ma  1 , Idris Sula  1 , Muhammad Candragupta Jihwaprani  1
Affiliations
Review

Cupping Therapy for the Treatment of Migraine Headache: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Bushra Mohandes et al. J Pharmacopuncture. .

Abstract

Objectives: Cupping therapy is a widely used complementary medicine for the treatment of migraine headaches globally. However, conflicting evidence exists on its effectiveness. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of cupping therapy in treating migraine headache disorder.

Methods: Seven databases were systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Clinicaltrials.gov, Cochrane CENTRAL, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, SinoMed, and the National Science and Technology Library. The primary endpoints are the treatment success and the pain intensity reduction. The secondary endpoints were adverse events (AEs) risk and improvement in quality of life (QoL), which was based on the Migraine Disability Scale (MIDAS). Subgroup analyses were performed based on the cupping techniques (wet and dry cupping) and adjunctive complementary treatments (i.e. acupuncture and/or collateral pricking).

Results: Eighteen trials out of 348 records were included, pooling 1,446 participants (n = 797 received cupping therapy). Treatment success was significantly higher among those with cupping therapy (risk ratio [RR] [95% CI] = 1.83 [1.52-2.21]); with significant improvement observed only with wet cupping (RR [95% CI] = 1.88 [1.53-2.30]). The adjunctive complementary therapy did not achieve a greater amplitude of treatment success compared to cupping therapy alone. Furthermore, cupping therapy showed significant pain reduction compared to baseline (standardized mean difference [SMD] [95% CI] = 0.55 [0.39-0.70]) and achieved fewer risks of AEs (RR [95% CI] = 1.88 [1.53-2.30]). However, cupping did not improve the overall QoL (MIDAS SMD [95% CI] = -0.79 [-3.55-1.98]).

Conclusion: Cupping therapy was an effective complementary modality to treat migraine headaches. However, it did not demonstrate improvement in QoL (PROSPERO CRD42024514509).

Keywords: cupping; headache; hijamah; meta-analysis; migraine; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart of the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of the risk ratio of treatment success.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Standardized mean difference of change in pain scale compared to baseline.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Risk ratio of the adverse events.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mean difference of change MIDAS scale compared to baseline.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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