Cupping Therapy in Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain
CompletedNot applicableNCT06193603
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This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
Chronic non-specific low back pain is a common condition that can cause disability, physical and psychological impairment, limitations in daily activities, and participation restrictions. It also has significant economic and social impacts. Clinical guidelines recommend non-pharmacological interventions as the first-line treatment, including exercises, psychological therapies, and multidisciplinary rehabilitation. Pharmacological therapies are used when non-pharmacological approaches are not effective. Alternative therapies like cupping therapy have gained attention, but their efficacy is still debated due to limited high-quality studies. Further research is needed to determine the true benefits and effectiveness of cupping therapy in managing chronic low back pain. A recent study found that dry cupping therapy was not superior to sham cupping in improving pain, physical function, mobility, quality of life, psychological symptoms, or medication use in individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain. However, it's important to note that the study used dry cupping therapy in isolation, which may not reflect typical clinical practice. Well-designed clinical trials can provide a better understanding of the potential impact of cupping therapy on various aspects of chronic low back pain. Hence, the primary goal of this randomized clinical trial is to compare the effectiveness of true cupping therapy combined with routine physiotherapy versus sham cupping therapy combined with routine physiotherapy in patients suffering from chronic non-specific low back pain. The study aims to address the following key questions: * Does true dry cupping therapy, when combined with routine physiotherapy, provide greater improvement in pain and functional disability for patients with chronic non-specific low back pain? * Does true dry cupping therapy, when combined with routine physiotherapy, result in a higher improvement in quality of life for patients with chronic non-specific low ba…
Study details
- Official title
- Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy in Patients With Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain: a Randomized Sham-controlled Trial
- Conditions
- Interventions
- Other: True dry cupping therapy
- Other: Sham cupping therapy
- Sponsor
- Iran University of Medical Sciences
- Start date
- 2024-10-01
- Primary completion
- 2025-04-01
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years to 59 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- Iran
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * Chronic non-specific low back pain lasting for a minimum of 3 months. * The pain intensity is rated between 3 and 6 on the visual analog scale. * The body mass index falls between 19 and 23. * No restrictions for therapeutic exercise and electrotherapy. Exclusion Criteria: * The presence of comorbidities such as diabetes and cardiovascular problems. * The presence of spinal column deviations, such as scoliosis, is observed. * Signs of serious pathology of the spine (eg, fractures, inflammatory diseases, infection or tumours). * Consecutive absence of more than three sessions. * Patients' dissatisfaction with their participation in the study * Individuals who have been treated with cupping in the past. * Neurological, vestibular, visual or auditory deficits. * Currently performing physical therapy. * Irradiated lumbar or sacroiliac pain. * Fibromyalgia
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06193603