Hijama therapy; A non-pharmacological intervention in health promotion and therapeutic management as adjuvant therapy: A review

Abstract

Hijama therapy, which is also called cupping therapy, has a long history. This is a non-pharmacological intervention and has been practiced by almost all the traditional medical systems including Unani Medicine in health promotion and to manage chronic and non-communicable diseases. The objectives of this review were to collect information and scrutinize the efficacy of cupping therapy scientifically and to popularize this simple intervention as adjuvant therapy in a wide range of diseases. Articles published from 2015 to 2025 were collected from various textbooks, journals and online data and scrutinized thoroughly. There are two types of cupping, namely dry and wet cupping. Dry cupping is a procedure where cups are fixed to the various sites of the body to create negative pressure in the cup to attract blood to the site. Wet cupping includes superficial and minor cuts on the skin surface and then cups are applied over the cuts to create negative pressure within the cups to allow the blood to ooze into the cups. This therapy acts as a detoxification process and triggers the immune system. The result reveals that there are considerable data available in relation to the efficacy of intervention of cupping therapy and its effects in health promotion and management of various chronic and non-communicable diseases such as musculoskeletal disorders, migraine, hypertension, metabolic syndrome and certain dermatological and respiratory ailments. In conclusion, the efficacy of cupping therapy should further be scrutinized scientifically and popularized in managing the various non-communicable diseases such as adjuvant therapy.