The Effect of Dry Cupping therapy on Chronic Knee Pain and Activities of Daily Living in Elderly Woman

Chronic musculoskeletal pain, including Chronic Knee pain is one of the most common problems in old age that if not controlled, leads to reduced activity of Daily Living. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Dry Cupping Therapy on Knee pain and Activities of Daily Living in elderly women.

Methods & Materials:

 The current research is a clinical trial study in which two centers out of four daily care centers for the elderly in Qazvin city were randomly selected. From each center, 25 elderly women who were qualified to enter the study, a total of 50 elderly women, were randomly selected and entered the study after obtaining written consent. In the second stage, random allocation was done to place the samples in two control and intervention groups. After filling in the personal information form, the "VAS" and "ADL" questionnaires were completed for both groups. For the intervention group, twice a week for four weeks and during eight intervention sessions, dry blower therapy was performed using 3 Cupping for 5-10 minutes on points SP10, SP9, and ST36. No intervention was done for the control group. One week after the last intervention, pain intensity and daily life activities were measured and recorded using VAS and ADL questionnaires in both intervention and control groups. Finally, the data was analyzed using SPSS software version 26 and using statistical tests.

There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups before the intervention regarding the level of chronic pain (p=0.11) and the level of daily activities (p=0.541). But after the intervention, the results showed that in the intervention group, chronic pain decreased (p<0.001) and daily activities increased significantly (p<0.001) compared to the control group.

Dry Cupping therapy is effective in reducing chronic knee pain and increasing daily activities of elderly women. It is recommended as a non-invasive, affordable and accessible method to help improve activities of daily living and reduce chronic knee pain which as a result increases the quality of life in the elderly.