Biomedical Research

Introduction: Wet-Cupping Therapy (WCT) is an ancient method used in several indications, particularly for incurable disorders such as migraine. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of WCT on migraine.

Materials and Methods: The study included 78 patients diagnosed with migraine headache, and evaluations were made before and after WCT. Each patient underwent WCT three times at approximately 30 d intervals. The migraine disability assessment questionnaire for migraine and visual analog scale for pain severity were applied before treatment and after 90 d. Data were analysed with the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test using R software.

Results: 62 of 78 patients completed the study. Patients were separated according to migraine types as migraine without aura (n=33, group I), aura (n=18, group II) and other (n=11, group III). Following WCT, a significant reduction was determined in all groups in the MIDAS and VAS scores. While the number of attacks significantly decreased in groups I and II, no significant improvement was determined in group III.

Conclusion: The findings of this research indicate that WCT is effective on decreasing pain severity and attack number in migraine headache.

Author(s): Ali Ramazan Benli, Muhammet Ali Oruc
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