An overview of systematic reviews of clinical evidence for cupping therapy

Background: As a traditional treatment method, cupping therapy is widely used in Asian countries. This overview of systematic reviews (SRs) investigated the effectiveness and safety of cupping therapy through an evidence-based approach. Methods: SRs that assessed the effectiveness of cupping therapy for any type of disease were searched through 6 electronic databases. Target diseases, cupping methods, numbers and types of included studies, quality of included trials, main results (including meta-analysis results), and authors’ conclusions of SRs were extracted. The Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews measurement was used to evaluate methodologic quality of the SRs. Results Eight SRs met the inclusion criteria and effectiveness and safety of cupping therapy for 11 diseases were assessed. All included SRs were of good methodologic quality. However, quality of trials included in the SRs was generally poor. Meta-analysis was performed in 4 studies. Results: showed cupping therapy (alone or combined with other interventions) was better than medications (or other interventions alone) for herpes zoster, acne, facial paralysis, low back pain, or cervical spondylosis. One review reported adverse events, including hematoma, increased pain and tingling following cupping treatment. Conclusions: Cupping therapy may be beneficial for pain-related conditions, acne, and facial paralysis. However, a firm conclusion could not be drawn due to the insufficient number of included reviews and the low quality of the original studies.