Comparison of the Effect of Dry Cupping Therapy and Acupressure at BL23 Point on the Primiparous Women's Intensity of Postpartum Perineal Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Postpartum Perineal Pain (PPP) is one of the most common problems within the puerperium period particularly among the primiparous women. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dry cupping therapy and acupressure on acupoint BL23 on postpartum perineal pain severity among the primiparous subjects referring to the selected educational center affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. This clinical trial was conducted on 150 cases in 2012. Cupping therapy was done every other day consecutively 4 times taking 15-20 minutes. Besides, acupressure was applied according to the circular model for 20 minutes. Both interventions were performed max. 8 hours after labor. The patients filled out the VAS questionnaire. Then, the data were analyzed using Chi-square tests. The significance level was considered p<0.05. In the cupping group, the mean difference of postpartum perineal pain intensity reached from 9.0±1.4 before the intervention to 4.8±1.6, 2.4±1.6, and 1.3±1.2 immediately, 24 hours, and 2 weeks after the intervention, respectively and the results of repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant difference between the three follow-up periods (p<0.05). On the other hand, this measure reached from 8.5±1.8 before the intervention to 6.6±1.6, 4.6±1.8, and 3.1±1.4 immediately, 24 hours, and 2 weeks after the intervention, respectively in the acupressure group, however, the reduction was not significant (p> 0.05). The results of this study showed that the mentioned techniques led to pain relief. Therefore, given the significant reduction in pain in cupping therapy group, this intervention can be