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African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines
African Ethnomedicines Network
ISSN: 0189-6016
Vol. 13, No. 4, 2016, pp. 22-28
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Bioline Code: tc16083
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines, Vol. 13, No. 4, 2016, pp. 22-28
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DRY CUPPING IN CHILDREN WITH FUNCTIONAL CONSTIPATION: A RANDOMIZED OPEN LABEL CLINICAL TRIAL
Shahamat, Mahmoud; Daneshfard, Babak; Najib, Khadijeh-Sadat; Dehghani, Seyed Mohsen; Tafazoli, Vahid & Kasalaei, Afshineh
Abstract
Background: As a common disease in pediatrics, constipation poses a high burden to the community. In this study, we aimed to
investigate the efficacy of dry cupping therapy (an Eastern traditional manipulative therapy) in children with functional constipation.
Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty children (4-18 years old) diagnosed as functional constipation according to ROME III
criteria were assigned to receive a traditional dry cupping protocol on the abdominal wall for 8 minutes every other day or standard
laxative therapy (Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 40% solution without electrolyte), 0.4 g/kg once daily) for 4 weeks, in an open label
randomized controlled clinical trial using a parallel design with a 1:1 allocation ratio. Patients were evaluated prior to and following 2, 4,
8 and 12 weeks of the intervention commencement in terms of the ROME III criteria for functional constipation.
Results: There were no significant differences between the two arms regarding demographic and clinical basic characteristics. After two
weeks of the intervention, there was a significant better result in most of the items of ROME III criteria of patients in PEG group. In
contrast, after four weeks of the intervention, the result was significantly better in the cupping group. There was no significant difference
in the number of patients with constipation after 4 and 8 weeks of the follow-up period.
Conclusion: This study showed that dry cupping of the abdominal wall, as a traditional manipulative therapy, can be as effective as
standard laxative therapy in children with functional constipation.
Keywords
Functional constipation; cupping; children; musculoskeletal manipulations; Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM)
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