Cupping therapy

Cupping is a manual therapeutic method that is believed to stimulate the organism immune system to fight infections on its own. Cupping can complement pharmacotherapy (e.g. antibiotic therapy). The advantage of cupping therapy is that it can be used by patients who, for various reasons, cannot take medications, e.g. children or pregnant women.

The cupping procedure is based on the local induction of inflammation by creating reversible congestion on the patient’s skin. Extravasation of blood (hematoma) occurs as a result of the patient’s skin being sucked into the cup. Artificially induced inflammation is believed to activate the body’s non-specific immune response (humoral response). The non-specific immune mechanism uses granulocytes, monocytes and macrophages (leukocytes, white blood cells) and the complement system composed of proteins (enzymes) with antibacterial and pro-inflammatory properties (e.g. lyases, opsonins). The main task of the non-specific response is the rapid but nonspecific recognition of pathogens and further activation of a specific (adaptive) response that specifically destroys antigens (e.g. bacteria) with antibodies. In some cases, a humoral response alone may be sufficient to fight the body’s infection.

Cupping therapy is a traditional treatment method with scientifically unproven effectiveness. Due to the manual nature of the therapy, it is not possible to perform a double-blind experiment that would unambiguously confirm the effectiveness of the method. In a double-blind study, one group of patients receives the drug and the other group receives placebo, then the symptoms of both groups are compared.