Friday, 1 April 2016

Hijama In US Cupping Therapy

By Brenda Kelly


As long ago as 3000 BC, there are records of people benefiting from a type of ancient medicine called cupping. It is a very simple technique that involves placing cups on the skin under suction in order to improve blood flow to the skin. This approach was used in China and the Middle East. Cups have been made out of earthenware, glass, or bamboo. Another name for the therapy is Hijama in US.

Typically, western medical practitioners are skeptical of this ancient practice, although the prophet Muhammad himself was said to be highly in favor of it. Today, it is applied for a number of ailments, among them, Herpes zoster, paralysis of the face, acne, and spondylosis of the neck. Some patients request it to improve general health and wellness.

In the United Kingdom, cupping is used in a range of disorders from anxiety and depression to hemophilia, varicose veins, migraines and rheumatoid disorders. The autoimmune disorder, Fibromyalgia, is a dismal condition with a dreary prognosis suffered by millions of Americans. Cupping may be just the straw that these patients should be clutching at.

In the USA practitioners use it to cleanse the liver, heart, lungs and other areas. They are also trying it in people with lethargy, chronic pain, fuzzy-headedness (also known as brain fog), and shoulder pain.

There is a small but growing evidence base of carefully designed randomized controlled trials that show encouraging results for cupping. In 2009 clinical trials conducted in Iran, wet cupping was demonstrated to provide relief to patients with nonspecific low back pain. Another study involving 70 subjects with tension and migraine reported improvements of up to 66% in headaches after wet cupping treatment.

There are two forms of cupping therapy, wet and dry. In both cases, a flammable substance, such as alcohol, paper, or certain herbs, are placed inside the cup and ignited. When the flames die down, the cup is inverted and placed on the patient's skin. As it cools, down, it forms a vacuum. The skin turns red and rises, causing the blood vessels to dilate.

In some cases, a rubber pump is used to achieve the vacuum. Cups made from medical grade silicon may be moved around on the patient's skin. This has a massaging effect.

Dry cupping relies on the use of suction only. In wet cupping, the patient's bleeding is carefully manipulated. Here, the cup is removed after a few minutes and a series of superficial scratches are made in the skin using a special cupping scalpel. The whole process looks really weird and painful, but patients report only mild discomfort. After the scratches, the cups are replaced and left for several minutes. Blood rises out of the scratches and pools inside the cups. Once the cups come off, the practitioner gently collects the pooled blood using soft, absorbent toweling. The cups are disposed of and the area of the skin underneath them is cleaned gently with antiseptic solution. With the upward pressure off, the bleeding ceases right away. Patients often report feeling relaxed and like they want to sleep.




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