The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific lower back pain in Iran.

A medical clinic in Kermanshah, Iran has recently completed a trial to determine the effectiveness of wet-cupping in the treatment of persistent nonspecific lower back pain.

Wet-cupping therapy is one of the oldest known medical treatments but very little study has been done into its effectiveness.

In the Kermanshah clinic, 98 patients aged between 17 and 68 with nonspecific back pain were split into two parallel groups. Patients in the experimental group were prescribed a series of three staged wet-cupping treatments, placed at 3 day intervals. Those in the control group received conventional care from their GP.

Using the McGill Present Pain Index, the Oswestry Pain Disability Index, and the Medication Quantification Scale, the experimental group showed significantly lower levels of pain intensity at a 3 month follow-up than those utilizing conventional care.