Effects of Pulsatile Cupping on Body Pain and Quality of Life in People with Suboptimal Health:A Randomized Controlled Exploratory Trial.

Objective: The curative effect of pneumatic pulsatile cupping on pain has been shown. This study was conducted to investigate effects of the pulsating frequency of pneumatic pulsatile cupping, compared with traditional cupping (TC), on body pain and quality of life (QoL) in people with suboptimal health status (SHS). Materials and Methods: Ninety-six participants with SHS were randomized to low-frequency (LF; n  = 24) or high-frequency (HF; n  = 24) pulsating cupping, traditional cupping (TC; n  = 24), or wait-list (WL; n  = 24) groups. The LF, HF, and TC groups received 4 sessions of cupping over 2 weeks. Visual analogue scale (VAS; 0-100 mm) pain level and Short-Form-36 (SF-36) QoL measurements were taken before and after the intervention. Results: Both LF and HF reduced pain significantly (VAS: -28.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] -36.18 to -20.34; and -31.88, 95% CI -39.81 to -23.96; both P  = 0.000) and improved QoL more than WL (SF-36, Bodily Pain dimension: 1.46, 95% CI: 0.85 to 2.07; and 1.75, 95% CI: 1.14 to 2.36, both P  = 0.000). Compared to TC, LF and HF significantly reduced pain (VAS: -7.92, 95% CI: -15.75 to -0.08, P LT  = 0.048; and -11.54, 95% CI: -19.38 to -3.70, P HT  = 0.004) and improved QoL (SF-36, Bodily Pain dimension: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.01 to 1.21, P LT  = 0.046; and 0.90, 95% CI: 0.30 to 1.50, P HT  = 0.004). There was no significant difference between LF and HF. Conclusions: This study showed that, in patients with SHS, pulsatile cupping therapy could have a more-favorable effect to relieve body pain, compared to TC. LF and HF pulsation produced equivalent pain relief. Further studies investigating the underlying mechanism are needed. Trial registration: This trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-INR-16009345).